


I Can’t Control My Heart

by BitKahuna



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, Anal Sex, Blow Jobs, Drarry, Eventual Smut, First Time, Friends to Lovers, Hand Jobs, Healing, Idiots in Love, Light Angst, Loss of Virginity, M/M, Mutual Pining, Oral Sex, Rimming, Sex Magic, Slow Burn, Virgin Harry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-22
Updated: 2019-07-31
Packaged: 2019-11-04 11:21:21
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 40
Words: 138,532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17897492
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BitKahuna/pseuds/BitKahuna
Summary: After a summer of trying to heal and testifying in Draco’s court case, Harry felt like he had a future.Upon returning for their final year at Hogwarts Harry finds that he and Draco have a real shot at being friends. With his newfound hope in life, Harry's ready to start over with Draco.(For simplicity’s sake, I used “Harry Potter Characters” in the tags because many of Harry’s friends are going to be in the story.)





	1. I’ll See You On The Other Side of The War

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry testifies in Draco’s case at Wizengamot.

Harry spent his summer trying to heal. Meditating, exercising, just about everything a self-help book would recommend. Of course, he felt stupid in the beginning, but no one ever judged or teased him about it. Everyone mourns in their own way. Harry had the most to mourn, so no one said a word to him.

Of course Hermione and Ron stood by his side and supported him, helping him, talking to him, they became a sort of therapy group. They talked about the people they lost, how they felt, they cried together, mourned together, got angry and depressed together. But by the end of it, they felt better.

Because of the wizarding war, everyone at Hogwarts was considered passed to the next level. But Harry, Hermione, and Ron were a strange exception. After speaking with Headmistress McGonagall and demonstrating their knowledge of complex spells, potions, and concepts in their classes, they were deemed competent in Year 6 concepts. They were automatically passed into Year 7, “That is, if you want to return.” McGonagall was a very understanding woman, even though she hoped to see them again for one last year.

They often talked about returning. Having one last year when they could be normal. Where there was no war or looming threat. Where they could just be normal kids. They loved the idea, but it wasn’t all peaches and cream. They also had anxiety about what it will be like to actually return. All the empty seats, all the missing faces, all the ghosts of the past. Blood was spilled on the campus, in the castle, on the stairs and walls. There were things that happened that no one talks about.

One being the rush of Slytherins right in the middle of the war.

Every family has drama and disagreements, but it ran deep for Slytherins. Hearing all your life about how family lineage and blood is important, then going to a school with people you’re supposed to hate and who are meant to be lower than you, only to find out they aren’t half bad. You try to vocalize your own beliefs once or twice and you’re verbally, sometimes even physically, punished for it. Then you realize the crazy of your own family, how none of their morals or beliefs make any sense, and your family ostracizes you in a way. Then you listen to the voices of your parents using unforgivable curses on children. On your peers. Your friends.

No one was sure who started it, or when exactly it happened. But at one point there was a wave of Slytherin students from the dungeon, mostly upperclassmen, who rushed into battle. Of course, the Death Eaters thought they were there to assist them, but it was quite the opposite.

It’s one of the things that no one talks about, no one questions, but everyone is thankful.

Harry spent the summer mourning and healing. He picked up the broken pieces of the life he was given, and he tried to make something out of it.

After the first few months their conversations shifted, instead of discussing their losses and sadness, they started to discuss the future. The future was all they had left.

No more war or evil threats, just hope for something better to come.

Until Harry got another blow.

An owl came to the Weasley house with a letter for Harry in its beak. Harry took the letter and examined it, it didn’t say who it was from, but it was sealed with a stamp from the Ministry of Magic.

Harry didn’t open at first, a bit worried he was in trouble. But he also figured that no one can really do him that much more harm, so he shrugged off his worried and tore the letter open.

It was from Wizengamot.

They wanted Harry to testify at Draco’s next court hearing.

The Head Warlock thought it was the perfect push to get Draco locked away in Azkaban. Call in his arch-nemesis, Harry Potter, to speak about him.

They couldn’t prosecute Draco’s mother since she was never a Death Eater, but Draco was. The only problem, was that much of Wizengamot believed that Draco being a child made him some sort of exception. That maybe, he shouldn’t go to Azkaban.

Harry was meant to be the final push.

It’s too bad that Harry isn’t as oblivious as they would like to think. Though he’s often a bit clueless, he did understand when he was being used. He wasn’t going to let them.

Part of his healing was reaching out to his classmates about the things he didn’t understand or didn’t know much about.

One of the things he questioned was what Hogwarts was like for his Year 6 peers. What it was like while he wasn’t there. He received stories of abuse by Death Eater teachers and institutionalized abuse by sending students to use curses to punish other students. It was terrible. Like dog fighting, but with children.

He also received a collection of stories that he hadn’t expected in a million years. Accounts of Draco Malfoy, helping people.

Harry felt like he couldn’t be more prepared for Wizengamot.

Of course, he’s grown a bit of an issue with most authority figures. After his own case in Wizengamot where he was left feeling berated and blamed, he’s especially hated Wizengamot. So he was quite excited to come in and tear them all a new one.

\- - - - -

Harry was standing outside the court room, and he could hear people talking.

Perhaps it was meant to be a way to shame or embarrass Draco, but his case was highly publicized. So publicized that journalists were allowed in the courtroom as a form of audience.

His case has only been going on a few days, and every ounce of evidence was against him and nobody was called in to support him besides his mother.

“In the final day of our prosecution of Draco Malfoy, we have one final witness to call to the stand.” The Head Warlock announced, “Mr. Harry Potter.” That was his cue to enter.

Gasps went around the room, usually witnesses were known of in advance, but this was a surprise.

He entered and all eyes went to him. His own immediately drifted towards Draco’s. The boy looked terrified and Narcissa looked worried too.

Everyone had silently decided that Harry was probably there to berate and put down Draco.

Harry’s eyes locked with Draco’s, and he saw the blonde looked a mix of scared and defeated.

It almost made Harry want to try to comfort him, but there was no time.

He walked up to the stand and took his place there.

“Mr. Potter,” The Head Warlock began, “can you please recount when you first met Draco Malfoy?”

“Of course. It was at Hogwarts, just before we were taken in to be sorted. He tried to be friends with me, but in the process, he acted like a wanker and insulted my friend, so I declined.” Manners weren’t Harry’s priority at the moment. He knew what he wanted to say, his only concern was getting it all out there. Not only for Wizengamot to hear, but the press as well.

The enchanted quills were writing down every word Harry spoke, describing the scene and the emotions. To Harry, this wasn’t just a testimony, this was PR.

“Can you describe your thoughts on Draco Malfoy since then?” The Head Warlock prompted.

Harry nodded, “I think we’re exactly the same. When I was born, I was born to die. It wasn’t my choice. Those around me decided my fate, put me on a path, and pushed me towards it. The same thing happened to Draco. Being a Death Eater and being on the side of Voldemort was his future, completely undetermined by him, and forced upon him by those around him. I was raised as a pig for slaughter and Malfoy was raised to believe in blood. We are exactly the same, but we were born on different sides of the war.”

Quills sped up, everyone was soaking in every word Harry spoke. There was also a slight confusion in the room. It sounded more like Harry was analyzing Draco rather than defending or berating him. Even Draco looked a bit unsure of how this was going to go.

Harry noticed and elaborated a little further, “Draco was a bully to me and my friends. But he wasn’t a bully because he’s just an ass, he was a bully because that’s what he was taught to be. Every child wants to grow up and become someone that their family approves of, being the child of a Death Eater and surrounded by blood-purists didn’t give him a good start. My point is, Draco didn’t have a choice in who he became, he can’t be blamed for it because he was only trying to please his family.” Harry tilted his head, “And even so, what crimes has he really committed? He hesitantly took the Dark Mark to please his father, and at his absolute worst, he proved to be a mild inconvenience. He never really did much to hurt or stop us. He’s committed no real crimes.”

The Head Warlock was a bit hesitant to continue. It obviously wasn’t going as he had hoped. “So, you believe Draco Malfoy should be released back into society?” He asked incredulously.

Harry nodded, “Yes. Because beyond my own opinion and experience, I have evidence that Draco Malfoy was never truly a Death Eater.” He challenged.

It was at that moment that the entire mood of the courtroom shifted. Gasps filled the room, it was quite a dramatic reaction. The Head Warlock was nervous, Draco was hopeful, and the reporters were silently loosing their minds and trying to get their quills to write faster.

The Head Warlock did nothing to stop him, so he continued. “I’ve spent the summer thinking, trying to understand and cope with what happened. In doing this, my friends and I have been talking and reaching out to classmates. We’ve been trying to understand everything. One thing we missed was Year 6. During which, we had Death Eaters for teachers, and people were allowed to use forbidden curses as a form of corporal punishment.”

Harry looked down, it was hard to think that Hogwarts had gotten so corrupt while he was away. “Through the stories of pain and terror, a common theme appeared. Draco Malfoy and his friends would be sent to curse students, and after cornering them, Draco would tell his friends that he wanted the student all to himself. Once they were alone, he would tell the student to start screaming so it sounded like Draco was doing his job. But he never hurt anyone, not if he didn’t have to. He knowingly protected muggleborn and halfblood students, even though he was taught to hate them. He actively resisted Voldemort’s ideas and protected Voldemort’s enemies. If he were truly a Death Eater, he never would've done something like that. Hell, Death Eater or not, no student in their right mind would have done that. He risked his life for them. There are two more accounts I would like to mention. For a period of time, two students were kept hostage in Malfoy Manor. Luna Lovegood and Dean Thomas. Draco protected them. He gave them extra food and water when he could, and brought them blankets at night. He also had house elves doing extra to take care of them behind the backs of his family, and right under the nose of Voldemort himself.”

That received a few murmurs from around the room. Draco just looked at the floor, he hadn’t intended on anyone ever discovering his actions, but now he was thankful that people told their stories.

Now that Harry has given his evidence, he gave his final statement. “Malfoy and I are the exact same, but we were placed on different sides of the war. After a while, Malfoy resisted what he was supposed to be. But I didn’t. Hell, I broke into a bank and I stole a dragon. So, if you find Malfoy guilty of committing no real crimes, then you have to find me guilty of the murder of Voldemort, destruction of property, countless assaults, and stealing a dragon among many other crimes.”

“But your crimes were necessary!” The Head Warlock argued, a bit out of turn.

Harry smirked and tilted his head. “Oh? And Draco’s weren’t? Let me reiterate what exactly, his crimes were. He hesitantly received the Dark Mark to please his father and at his worst he was a mild inconvenience. Other than that, he protected Hogwarts students hundreds of times, especially halfblood and muggleborn students. He personally protected the very people that Voldemort wanted dead. He was necessary to the wellbeing and survival of muggleborn and halfblood students at Hogwarts, and now you want to throw him in Azkaban? Draco Malfoy is a hero.”

Draco looked more shocked than anyone else in the room. Journalists were eating it up and Narcissa looked like she was going to cry. Harry hoped that it was from joy.

Harry met Draco’s eyes again, this time he spoke to Draco personally. “You were a clever bastard in school, even if you were a bit of a bully, you did what was right in the end. I forgive you, Draco, for everything you’ve ever done. It doesn’t matter anymore. You aren’t bad. Part of me wishes that I hadn’t been so hard on you when we first met. We could have been friends, and maybe, if we had been, I could have turned you around. But by the same token, what you did was heroic and admirable, and I wouldn’t change it. If you end up at Hogwarts next year, I’d like to try again.”

Rather than Narcissa crying, Draco was in tears now. “Thank you.” He mumbled.

The Head Warlock was in shock. “Let’s take a ten-minute recess. We will return with our verdict.”

\- - - - -

During the recess, Harry stepped out to talk to Ron and Hermione. They were with him and knew exactly what he came to do.

“Did you tell them? Did you get all of it?” Ron asked.

Harry nodded, “I told them everything. There’s no way they can convict Draco now.”

Hermione looked up. “Owls are already flooding out of the Ministry. I imagine the press are sending first drafts to their editors as we speak. By tomorrow, no one will be able to call Draco a villain.”

“I had no idea he was at Hogwarts saving people.” Ron said softly, “Never would‘ve thought he was the heroic type. I suppose I misjudged him, but you can’t blame me. He was an arsehole.”

Hermione chuckled, “He was. But he was smart too. I always did admire his brains.”

Ron stared at Hermione a moment before wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her close. Hermione giggled and rolled her eyes.

Harry shook his head, “Alright, lovebirds. You two are making the court seem more comfortable.”

Ron shrugged, “You need to get laid.”

“I tried your brothers but you wouldn’t let me.”

“You can’t have all my siblings Harry!” Ron whined. This had been going on a while. Harry always talks about how he’d love to sleep with any one of Ron’s siblings, just to get under his skin.

Harry shrugged, “I’m just saying. You ever hurt Hermione, and I fuck all your brothers.”

“Just my brothers, not Ginny?”

“No, she’s too good for me. Not to mention she’s very happy with her girlfriend.”

Ron snickered, “Remember back when she was trying to fake an interest in you?”

Harry nodded, “Yea. She had me fooled, but it didn’t take me long to see the way she looked at girls. It’s the same way I look at Percy’s bum.”

Ron groaned and rolled his eyes.

“That is one delicious man.”

“Stop trying to sleep with my brothers! Dammit, Harry.”

Harry will never stop. He had already decided that even in his older years, he’ll tell Ron all about how he regrets never sleeping with his brothers. Assuming he never actually does.

\- - - - -

Eventually, the court reconviened and Harry went back inside to see how it turned out.

“After some mild debate, Wizengamot has unanimously agreed that all charges against Draco Malfoy be dropped.” The Head Warlock announced.

Harry closed his eyes in relief and felt like he won a lottery. Narcissa ran to Draco, hugging him and crying. Draco was magically bound to the chair but was promptly released, and he hugged his mother. They were both in tears.

Harry was hounded by a few reporters who he reluctantly spoke to, mostly questions about how he felt about Draco and if he planned on befriending Draco. He said he felt like he seriously misunderstood Draco and that he underestimated his courage and morals. He said he would love to be friends with someone as sly and cunning as Draco.

Harry started walking out, when he felt a light tap on his shoulder, he turned around and saw Draco standing there. “Hey, Potter. I uh. I just wanted to thank you, for what you did. I know it must be hard to defend an enemy.”

Harry just raised an eyebrow, “Though there were moments where you really got on my nerves. I never considered you an enemy. An annoying bastard maybe, but a witty one at that. You made school interesting to say the least. You aren’t that bad Malfoy. The war is over. Just be yourself. And I’d better see you at Hogwarts next year. It wouldn’t be the same without you. And Lovegood’s been dying to talk to you since you helped her at your Manor.”

Draco still had tears on his face, but he seemed happy. “It just didn’t feel right. I don’t know when exactly, or what line was crossed, but around fifth year, everything started to feel wrong.”

“Like I said, you aren’t half bad.” They began walking out together, Narcissa a few steps behind them. “So, am I gonna see you at Hogwarts? I’d like to whip you in Quidditch a couple more times, and I might as well prove I’m a much better at brewing potions than you.” Harry challenged.

Draco raised an eyebrow and grinned. “Oh you’ll see me alright. Hope the view is nice when I knock you on your arse in Quidditch. And don’t even get me started on potions! You got lucky in Year 5, but this time you’re going down.”

Harry laughed, “We still have Slughorn teaching potions, I think I’ve still got the advantage.” He thought a moment and then said, “Scared, Malfoy?”

Draco chuckled, “You wish.”


	2. Oh How We Changed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry, Hermione, and Ron take their last train ride to Hogwarts. Along the way they see old friends, and upon arrival, they see how Hogwarts has changed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> JKR said most recently that there are ~600 students at Hogwarts, which would lead to 21 (followed by an atrocious decimal) students per house per year.
> 
> To make the number prettier, we’re going to say 20 students (10 boys and 10 girls) per house per year, which leads to 560 students at Hogwarts.

Sitting in his usual booth with his friends gave Harry a sense of comfort. He felt like maybe, he would get to Hogwarts and it would be just like old times.

But by the same token, he didn’t want a repeat of previous years. He didn’t want to go to school and almost get killed, or find that an entire house hates him. He craved normalcy. He wanted to have a normal year at Hogwarts. No elaborate plots against him, or strange events, or plans to kill him. He just wanted to be a regular student.

On the train, his eyes were glued to the window into the hallway. He wanted to see who else had arrived. He saw Neville, and he actually burst out of his booth and into the corridor to hug him.

Neville let out a laugh, “I’m happy to see you too, Harry.” He said with a smile, hugging his friend. “Hey, do you mind if I sit with you guys? A lot of people didn’t return this year and I’d rather sit with you lot.”

Of course, they let him sit. In reality, the booth could fit maybe eight people, but it was only ever the three of them.

Conversation began by talking about the future. About what was to come. Neville confessed he wanted to work in herbology.

“You should, you’re wonderful with plants.” Ron said with a nod, “Much better than me. I’ll never really get Herbology, but you look like you don’t even have to try.”

Neville chuckled, “Oh come on, Ron, you’re good at it too. It just, it makes sense to me. I’ve got a niche for it I suppose.”

Next to appear was Seamus and Dean. Harry nearly huffed when he saw them. It was obvious they liked each other, but they were oblivious to each other’s feelings. Still, Harry came out of the booth and wrapped an arm around each of their necks, hugging them. They hugged Harry and were invited to sit in the booth.

Of course, they accepted the offer, and the conversation went back to how good Neville is at Herbology.

Only a moment later, Luna came on the train, and she bursted into the booth to hug everyone.

They all insisted she sit with them. Hermione was going to sit on Ron’s lap to make more room, but Dean and Seamus beat her to it. Nobody questioned why Seamus insisted on sitting on Dean’s lap, everyone knew why, and everyone was frustrated by the fact that they still weren’t a couple.

After discussing Neville’s Herbology ambitions, it went around the booth, everyone discussing their dreams. Ron wanted to be an Auror and Hermione wanted to be Minister for Magic. The position was currently held by Kingsley Shacklebolt, who was pioneering the arrests of dark wizards. He’s likely gonna have his job for another decade or so, which gave Hermione plenty of time to gain support and rise through the ranks.

Dean and Seamus revealed they wanted to work in the Department of Magical Games and Sports. Harry personally believed they should also consider marriage, adopting two kids and three dogs. But whatever.

Luna said she wanted to be a Magizoologist. She also wanted to travel the world and see what magical creatures hadn’t been discovered yet.

The conversation moved to Harry, who just sat there a moment. “I. I don’t know, honestly, I didn’t expect to live this long.” He bit his lip, “I think I want to teach.”

“Well, you did phenomenal teaching us back in DA.” Neville recalled.

“Oh yea! You taught a group of teenagers magic that was so advanced, most adults can’t do it.” Hermione remembered, “You’d be an amazing teacher. And you were always good at Defense Against the Dark Arts.”

Harry tilted his head, “I think I would like that.”

“You should talk to McGonagall. I heard that this year we have a substitute teaching standard lessons that McGonagall wrote up, she’ll be lookin to hire as soon as possible.” Seamus pointed out to encourage Harry.

Harry nodded, “Alright, I’ll talk to her.”

After a bit more conversation on the future, someone brought up Draco.

Harry winced a bit, sort of nervous that his friends might not like that he defended Draco. But instead, they all seemed to be okay with him. They even congratulated Harry on his testimony.

“The Daily Prophet got every word! You did phenomenal Harry, nearly made me cry for him.” Seamus said with a grin.

Harry was glad that his friends were okay with Draco, as he was serious about wanting to befriend him.

When they arrived at Hogwarts, the castle looked mostly the same. There was still a bit of rubble, but it was in good shape considering what happened.

Usually, there were 560 students at Hogwarts, but when he entered the Great Hall, he saw that the number was greatly reduced. So much so, that he could count the remaining students if he wanted to.

He didn’t want to.

But he estimated around two hundred fifty were there.

Harry sat down with Seamus, Neville, Dean, Ron, and Hermione. Luna went to her seat at the Ravenclaw table.

He looked around and saw how empty the room was. So many students were either dead or didn’t return. The empty seats killed him on the inside. He had mourned, but he wasn’t done hurting. He even saw some students with tears falling down their faces. Being back wasn’t easy.

Harry wondered how many new students were going to come in to be sorted. It was usually about eighty, but surprisingly, the sorting process never surpassed ten minutes.

He grimaced when he remembered the sorting process. It was tradition to boo the new Slytherins.

Maybe this year, they shouldn’t.

Harry brought the idea up with his friends, and they looked momentarily horrified upon remembering the tradition. They quickly agreed that booing Slytherins should probably stop.

Harry got up and spread the word, he went to every table and told them that this year we’re cheering for Slytherins too.

Of course, it was noticed that Harry Potter was going to every table, except Slytherin, and whispering about something.

Draco was a bit unnerved, but he wanted to trust Harry. He did. So he tried not to worry about it.

Then, McGonagall came in, leading a group of about forty first years. Harry supposed most of his classmates who survived the war, and would-be classmates, must have transferred to other schools.

Sorting began, Ravenclaw gained fifteen new members in a row, and they were going crazy. Seven students in and they started chanting “One more! One more! One more!” It was mad.

But rather than gaining a sixteenth student, their streak was interrupted by a young girl being sorted into Slytherin.

Harry could practically see the worry at the Skytherin table. But rather than shaming the young girl, applause erupted in the room, even though some Ravenclaw were a bit disappointed they didn’t get another member.

It was so surprising, a few professors jumped, and McGonagall looked pleasantly surprised.

That’s how the rest of the sorting went, every student was encouraged. No matter what house they went in to.

McGonagall stood at the podium with a smile. “Well, I would like to start by saying hello to all the students who chose to stay or join us this year. I know it was a difficult decision to make after the war. But it’s finally over. There are no more looming threats or dark wizards waiting to attack.”

Her speech continued, she preached togetherness and friendship. Harry thought it was nice, and it was certainly a lot shorter than Dumbledore’s speeches. McGonagall was always been good at getting to the point.

“As part of our new policies on togetherness, I need to have a conversation with our Year 7 students. Everyone else, you are dismissed. I’ve already spoken with our Year 6 students, you know what to do.” She said and a few Year 6 students nodded and got up, acting as guides for their houses and leading them to their dorms.

All that was left was the forty Year 7 students that remained.

McGonagall smiled, “I’m so happy to see you lot back for another year. I know this is difficult. I have different living arraignments for you. During the repairs, I had another tower made. From now on, Seventh Year students will live there. Of course, you’ll still be considered part of your own houses, but you’ll live together in a form of unity. The password to said tower, is unity. I thought it would be appropriate. I wanted to do this to teach students that houses don’t matter once you leave Hogwarts. But I’m also hoping that by letting you all live together, you can heal together. I know you all have your wounds and scars, I want you all to be able to move on someday.”

The speech was short and to the point. But she then began elaborating on the new tower. “Roommates will be selected at random. Each student will be paired with someone outside of their own house, though there will be some exceptions given the disproportionate amount of people per house who returned this year.”

They were given instructions to write their names on pieces of parchment and the parchment was placed inside a jar. McGonagall would call out which two houses to pick from, then the jar would spit out two names.

“Slytherin and Gryffindor.” McGonagall called out, two names floated before her, “Pansy Parkinson and Hermione Granger.”

Pansy and Hermione exchanged smirks before going off to find their room.

“Have they really met before?” Dean asked, “They just looked at each other like they’re already planning to overthrow the government.”

Rather than commenting on what Dean said, Harry muttered, “Why do half the students here have their first and last names starting with the same letter? Am I the only one who thinks it’s strange? Pansy Parkinson, Cho Chang, Gregory Goyle, Luna Lovegood, Parvati and Padma Patil. It’s weird, right? Just a bit.”

Neville laughed at Harry’s random comment. Mostly because it was true and he never noticed before. Shortly after, he was paired with a boy from Ravenclaw, and left.

Ron was paired with a boy from Hufflepuff and Harry saw Luna was paired with a Slytherin girl.

As the numbers shrank, Harry began to notice the disproportion. Because McGonagall couldn’t have known was returning, she was having to do this quite randomly, which made it hard to evenly distribute students with members of other houses.

By the time Harry, Seamus, and Dean were the last of the Gryffindor’s left, McGonagall realized that there was only one Hufflepuff, one Ravenclaw, and Draco remaining. The Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw had to be paired together since they were the last girls. Four boys remained, three of which were all from the same house.

Perhaps there hadn’t been a way to do it perfectly.

McGonagall just gave a shrug and said, “Pair remaining names.” She was willing to take whatever pairing the jar saw fit. “Seamus and Dean, you’re together. Harry and Draco, you’re together.”

Seamus and Dean high fived, Harry silently thanked the jar because maybe, Seamus and Dean will finally get together.

They ran off to find their room while Harry made his way over to Draco. “Don’t think us being roommates is gonna make me get off your arse in potions. I’m better than you at brewing, always have been and I always will be” Was the first thing Harry said.

Draco found himself smiling, “Same to you, just don’t complain when I finish my potions while you struggle with the first steps.”

Harry smirked, “You’re on.”

They walked to their dorm, mostly in silence, besides the occasional quip.

When they walked into their common room, Harry raised an eyebrow. “Ah, so they’ve taken an inclusive route. Would’ve thought they’d avoid house colors all together.” The room was a mix of heavy green, faded gold, deep blue, and worn red. Somehow, all the colors actually complemented each other really well and it looked quite lovely. The house colors were also only used sparsely, just to add a pop of color amongst the room. It wasn’t a particularly bright room, but it wasn’t dark either. It was a nice balance.

Draco only tilted his head before they continued to their dorm. Of course, one bed had a green duvet while the other had a red duvet.

“I call the green one.” Harry joked.

“No.”

Harry playfully rolled his eyes and then sat on the edge of the red bed, laying his torso down. “Fine.”

Draco smirked, “No need to pout Potter, I know green’s the superior color.”

“Harry.” He corrected.

“What?”

“We’re roommates now, just call me Harry.”

Draco gave a soft smile, “Then I expect you call me Draco.”

“No problem, Draco.”

“Alright then, Harry.”


	3. Charmolypi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry found a box of stuff after cleaning out his parent’s vault, including his mother’s old journal.

“How exactly did your family get so rich?” Draco asked one afternoon.

He wasn't sure what sparked the question in his mind. The room had been silent before he spoke up. But now that he had, he was quite curious. He knew Harry was loaded, he's always known. Before he first came to Hogwarts, he was told to try to befriend Harry, and in order to help him with that he was given a brief description of what Harry was like. His appearance, how his parents died, that he wasn't of the best blood, and that his family was rich. But he never found out how his family was so rich. He knew the Potters had never really been prominent until Harry was born, so they obviously weren't involved in business. In fact, he remembers being told that James Potter didn't even work because he was so loaded.

Harry glanced up from the cardboard box he dragged in, not expecting the question. “One of my ancestors invented Skele-Gro. Uh, and my grandfather invented some hair potion or whatever, sold the business for a fortune. My family invents potions and people like them I guess. I really don’t know too much about it. What about your family?”

His lack of living relatives made providing a family history to be quite difficult.

Draco shrugged, “Marrying rich people mostly. Investing. Doing favors for the rich and powerful. Everything besides actually working.” He listed it off as if he'd explained it a hundred times or as if the information he was revealing was standard or casual. Like it meant nothing to him.

Harry chuckled and raised an eyebrow, glancing up at Draco again. “Sounds like you’ve got your future all figured out.” He said as he unpacked the box on his bed. He had visited his parent’s fault and found some old things that he wanted to check out. He essentially dug up everything that wasn’t money.

“Not exactly, I do want to work. I definitely don’t want to marry someone because of their money, status, or family name.”

Harry nodded, “So, how exactly has your family stayed pureblood all these years?” He wondered this since there were apparently only twenty-eight pureblood families.

“We haven’t. Not completely, at least. Eventually that would get incestuous. No, we aren’t completely pureblood. There are plenty of halfbloods on the Malfoy family tree. We’ve even married muggles.” He explained, ”The LeStrange family got a bit incestuous and ended up like all the others that do. There all a bit unhinged, crazy. It really isn't healthy. You would think the royals families of Europe would have been enough evidence to prevent behaviors such as that, but I suppose some lessons have to be learned the hard way.”

Harry looked up at Draco with a blank expression. “Are you fucking serious? There was entire war damning halfbloods and muggleborns, yet most pureblood families aren't even that.”

Draco let out a laugh at Harry’s expression. “Yes. Harry, I don’t think anyone is completely pureblood. It’s more of an idea than a literal thing.”

“I’m going to kill someone.”

Draco was somewhat amused by how Harry took the information, but made no comment, returning to his book.

Harry started to look at the different things he found at the vault.

That was how their days usually went. Whenever they were in the room at the same time they would have a quick conversation and that was it. Then Draco would go back to reading and Harry would go back to whatever he had been doing before.

The first thing Harry found was a necklace. He assumed it was his mother’s, likely a gift from his father. It was a silver chain with a silver lily on it.

He smiled at the thought of his father surprising his mother with the necklace as a pun on her name. In his head, his mother loved it and thought it was funny too. But it could also be a gift for his father from his mother. Her making a pun on her own name and giving it to James so that he’ll always have her wherever he goes. Or it could have been a necklace his mother had since she was a girl.

Harry would never really know.

Petunia wasn’t exactly close to Lily, so his only real connections to his parents were Sirius and Remus. One taken by Bellatrix Lestrange, the other by the war.

The only chance he had at knowing his parents, gone.

He was angry, of course he was. He was furious and heartbroken. He hated that the one thing he had always wanted, his parents, were also the one thing he would never have. But after his summer away from it all, spent holed up in the Wealsey's house, he'd worked on himself a bit. He learned to accept things, and let them go. It was much easier said than done, and of course he had his bouts of anger and sadness. But ultimately, he ended up better than how he began.

He didn’t know he was clutching the necklace in his fist until he felt the metal digging into his palm. He let go and took a shaky but deep breath, calming himself down. Holding something that his mother likely wore was importation to him, With his father, he had the cloak. This was from his mother.

“I’ll be back in a little while.” Harry said before scurrying out the door to find Hermione and Ron.

He went into the common room and found them sitting with Seamus and Luna. Probably studying.

Harry wandered over and sat down by them, “I found a necklace in the box of stuff from the vault, I think it was my mother’s.” He held out the necklace to Ron and Hermione.

Hermione smiled, “Oh it’s beautiful! Your mother would have loved it, silver would have gone great with her hair.” She complemented.

Ron nodded in agreement, “Us redheads do look amazing in silver.” He joked, still making sure to tread lightly as he knew the necklace was important to Harry.

Harry let out a puff of air through his nose to stop himself from laughing.

Luna looked over, “May I see?”

Harry nodded and showed her the necklace. Luna took one look at Harry and saw how completely vulnerable he was. Showing the necklace was like showing an open wound. She looked at the necklace and tilted her head, “The detail on the lily is so lovely a fae might try to steal it.”

Harry always enjoyed Luna’s beliefs. It didn’t matter what it was she believed in, if Luna said she thought it was real, Harry considered it possible.

Seamus glanced at the necklace and commented, “Your dad must of been a real charmer getting your mum a necklace like that.”

Harry put the necklace on and silently went back to look through his parent’s things, leaving without any parting words.

His friends were used to Harry moving around without saying much. It was just part of his adjusting to being back at Hogwarts. They knew he’d be back to his normal self soon enough.

Harry went back into his room and that’s when Draco’s eyes caught the silver around Harry’s neck.

“Is that a necklace?” He asked and Harry nodded, “I think it was my mother’s.”

Draco’s attitude shifted from casual to curious, “May I take a look?”

Harry walked over and sat on the edge of Draco’s bed. One look at Harry and Draco could see how vulnerable he was. Draco leaned forward but didn’t touch it, “It’s an oriental hybrid lily. The petals look like a Sumatra. They’re quite gorgeous and romantic. Dark red color, almost velvety in appearance. The detail is very precise. A piece like this would have taken months, if not years to perfect. I can’t imagine there are many lily necklaces this detailed. This is one of a kind, something I’d pay top dollar for.”

Harry was a bit surprised at Draco’s analysis. He was mostly surprised at how Draco knew so much about flowers.

Harry went back to his bed and asked, “I take it you like flowers, then?”

“We have a fairly large garden at the Manor. Flowers were my first friends, so I wanted to learn about them.” At home and in his younger years, Draco spent hours outside in his garden. He would walk among the flowers, memorizing the details of each one. He thought they were the most beautiful things to come out of nature. Besides his cousins and family friends, with whom he was forced to interact with, the flowers were his first friends. But now he understood that the flowers were the only ones who wouldn't betray him.

Harry was satisfied with the explanation and went back to looking through his parent’s things. There were a few picture albums, he didn’t look through them. He’s already looked them over multiple times. He just hadn’t brought them out of the vault until now.

The only things left was his mother’s journal, a pair of golden cufflinks with the Gryffindor symbol stamped into them, and the patents for all the different potions that his family invented.

Harry looked over the patents, but he didn’t really care. The cufflinks were cool, and he would definitely be using them. But he was mostly interested in the journal.

He climbed up onto his bed and he opened the journal. He smiled when he was the first page was written in crayon, _‘Hi, my name is Lily and I am seven years old. My mum says its fun to write so I am. I live with my mumy, my dady, and my sister Petunia. I love them all very much. I wanna puppy but daddy says we cant have one caus fur makes him sneez but win I get older and I live in my own house Im gonna get ten. I wanna be a doctor or a teacher. I like purple but I dont no if its my favorit caus I like yelow and orange and pink. I have to go eat now, bye!’_

The page was sloppy, childish, full of terrible grammar, and plenty of misspelled words. It was adorable.

Harry smiled as he read about how annoyed his mother was by his father. He also read about how she was suspicious about Remus, and thought he might have some sort of illness that flares up around full moons.

Perhaps he didn’t get his mother’s brains.

The journal wasn’t filled with much. Typically, a paragraph or two on each page detailing how her year was going. Sometimes a rant about some drama or argument that happened.

It gave him a way inside his mother’s head. Her thoughts, her feelings, how she dealt with problems, what she liked and disliked, it was almost overwhelming. But it also hurt. She wrote about James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter. Before they were either dead or traitors. She wrote about their pranks and how they occasionally bothered Snape. She also wrote about all the terrible things Snape had done. That, combined with Harry’s own experience, made him realize Snape was a racist with an unhealthy obsession for his mum.

With each page he felt his chest hollow out like a wound, his heart dropped, his eyes burned, and his jaw ached with the desire to cry out. Everyone he lost, they were so innocent then. So carefree and childish. They were just children, they were his friends and family, and now they’ve been murdered. He never considered the fact that his parents and their friends started out as just a group of children. They were only children, then they grew up and decided to fight for what was right, and then they died for it. The journal was almost too much for him. He saw them as the children they once were. Pulling pranks, dating, wondering about the future, entirely unaware of the war that would kill them all. They were carefree, their only troubles being their classes. In those small hours, forever embalmed on paper, they were children. Playing Gobstones, Quidditch, Wizard's Chess, studying, joking, laughing, and smiling. They were just children.

He kept reading until he heard Draco, “Shit, Harry come on! Transfigurations starts in three minutes.”

Harry looked up and put the journal down, Draco was about to say something else until he saw Harry’s face. His cheeks were blotchy and his eyes were overflowing with tears.

One thing Harry learned very quickly was the art of crying silently. He couldn't afford to be loud as a child. It made Draco wonder how long Harry had been crying for.

Draco didn’t know what to do for a moment. “O-Or we could stay here. It’s fine, really. What’s one class?” He moved and sat back down on his bed. “You can keep reading if you want. Or, if you want to talk, I’d be fine with that.”

He didn’t know what exactly was wrong with Harry, but he wasn’t gonna leave him there or try to convince him to go to class.

Harry gave him a broken smile, “Thank you.” He mumbled before curling inward and covering his face a moment.

He shook through his sobs before he finally got himself under control enough to say something. “Sorry. It’s just my mum’s journal. She uh, she wrote a lot about my father and his friends, Sirius and Remus. And uh. Now everyone is dead.” His lip trembled again. “I guess I’m just upset b-be-because-“ He was cut off by a sob. “Because Sirius and Remus were the only thing I had w-with my dad being dead. I think most of all, I’m sad because I’ve realized that they started out as ..... they were just kids ..... and now-“ he couldn’t finish speaking, his bones ached with a profound sadness and his face burned from his crying.

Draco didn’t know what to do or say. He was honored that Harry wanted to share, he was regretful that he ever tried following his dad’s footsteps, but most of all he felt like he finally understood just how broken Harry was. Or at least, he was beginning to understand.

“Sirius was my cousin.” Draco said softly, getting Harry’s attention. “I never met him more than a few times. I always remembered him as the nice one.”

They locked eyes. Draco saw a deep sadness and a cry for help while Harry saw another innocent kid who was hurt by the war.

Draco got up and went to sit beside Harry. He wrapped his arms around Harry and kept him close as he sobbed.

Draco clenched his jaw and closed his eyes, tears of his own falling down.

They stayed together for the rest of the afternoon.

McGonagall saw them walking in late for dinner after missing her class, but she didn’t question why. They looked sad, but they seemed happy too. That was good enough for her.


	4. Call Me Friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry gets Draco talking with his friends, schemes, and has discussions of past abuses.

“Come on, you know they’re all fine with you.” Harry encouraged but Draco shook his head, “I bullied them.”

Harry grabbed Draco’s wrist. “Nope, come on. Do it for Luna, she’s been dying to talk to you since she escaped your Manor.”

“Exactly! She escaped! My parents held her hostage!”

“And you protected her while she was there. No excuses, come on.”

Draco huffed as he was pulled from their room, into the common room.

Harry had been trying for weeks to convince Draco to come and hang out with him and his friends. Draco’s excuse was always that he had bullied Harry’s friends and felt like his presence would make them uncomfortable.

Harry always insisted that his friends were fine with him being there, that they wanted to talk to him. But Draco always deflected Harry’s persistent arguments.

Since words weren’t working, Harry figured action might.

Draco, on the other hand, was still uncomfortable with talking to them. Since the year had started, he's had a few passing conversations with them. Mostly small stuff like asking each other questions about homework or about what they had learned in class. Nothing personal or even friendly. Draco figured that was all he should expect given their history, but Harry had something different in mind.

There were three couches sitting in front of the fireplace, all side-by-side and tilted to face the fireplace. On the left couch was Dean and Seamus, to the right was Luna, and in the middle sat Neville, Ron, and Hermione. Harry pulled Draco to sit with Luna, plotting himself on the other end of the couch as Draco sat down between him and Luna.

Harry was determined to befriend Draco and to make him part of his friend group. Ever since they had their breakdown together, they felt a lot closer and spoke more often. At the very least, they would have a minimum of two conversations a day, which was double what they started with in the beginning of the year.

Everyone greeted him, but Draco still felt a bit uncomfortable.

Luna noticed this and quickly jumped into action, “It’s so nice to talk to you outside of your Manor. I know you’re excellent at potions, and I was wondering if you could help me with something? I’m struggling quite a bit with one.”

Luna knew Draco enjoyed potions class, so she played off of it to get Draco a little more comfortable. She didn't like when someone felt ostracized or like they didn't belong, she always tried to make everyone feel included, given that she knew exactly how it felt to be the odd one out. She knew she wasn't like everyone else, but she never thought herself to be odd. But she did understand that not everyone was mature enough to treat people who were different with the same respect they would anyone else.

Harry’s eyes drifted from them to Dean and Seamus. Seamus was practically on Dean’s lap. They were sitting as close as they could even though the couch could fit three or four. It was painful to see them act like a couple, to know they’re in love with each other, but still refuse to confess their feelings.

Years ago, Seamus and Dean had separately confessed to their friend group that they were in love with each other. Dean mumbled his confession during a study session, unsure of how to deal with it and needing serious advice, Seamus blurted his out to them in potion's class, accidentally blowing up his potion in the process. At the time it was hilarious. They were all giddy and excited for when their friends would finally get together. Then, it never happened. They waited and waited for one of them to make a move, but they never did. At first, they had absolutely no excuse and their friends pushed for them to be together. But as time went on, and as the war loomed closer, they didn't have time for relationships. Harry hoped things would change this year.

Neville smirked knowingly at Harry. “It’s only gonna get worse now that the war’s over. They’ll get closer and closer, but I’ll bet anything that they won’t get together without a push.”

“You’re probably right. It’s painful to watch.” Harry said with a nod, Dean and Seamus were wrapped in their own little world.

It was no secret that Seamus is gay, but Dean hasn’t said anything about his sexuality, only that he loves Seamus.

Draco leaned to Harry after he finished explaining a potion to Luna. “Oh, are Seamus and Dean a couple?”

“No. But they’ve fancied each other since third year. Still do. They’re always like this, but they’re completely oblivious to each other’s feelings.”

“Are you going try to set them up?”

“Of course I am. They’re out of excuses. What is it, twentieth of September? I’ll have them together before Halloween.”

Draco chuckled, “Do tell if you need any help. Their pining is already driving me insane.” He said as they watched the two practically snuggling together.

“It’s even worse at meals.” Ron piped in, “I once saw them feeding each other and giggling. It was so cute and disgusting. They put me through hell.”

Hermione tilted her head, “It’s cute sometimes, till you remember they aren’t a couple. They used the war as an excuse, said it’s too dangerous and there’s no point in starting a relationship.”

Luna frowned, also tired of their pining. Four years of it really wore everyone down. “We’ve told them before that their feelings are mutual, but they’re doubtful and insecure.”

“I’m going to lose my mind.” Draco said as he watched them talk and laugh, pressed against each other’s side.

Neville rubbed his temples, “I can’t spend more than ten minutes around them.”

It was then that Dean and Seamus came to, and realized Draco was there.

“Oh, hey Malfoy. How’ve you been?” Seamus asked with a smile, he was practically glowing from his conversation with Dean.

“I’ve been good. You?” Draco’s response was in a casual tone, but he felt so extremely awkward. He used to bully Seamus, and now they were having a friendly conversation. He almost couldn't believe it.

“Great. And thanks for what you did last year, really, dunno what I woulda done if Goyle ha-“

“Don’t worry about it.” Draco interrupted, not wanting to talk about what his ex-friend almost did.

Hermione was at a loss, “What happened?”

Ron and Harry were clueless as well, seeing as they weren’t there in Year 6.

Seamus’ mouth opened and then closed, he wasn’t sure how to say it.

Neville looked at him, asking for permission.

Seamus nodded and motioned for him to go ahead.

“Goyle, uh. He doesn’t like gays. He tried to corner Seamus, to kill him.”

Seamus gave a weak smile. “So Draco told him he’s gay, then broke his nose.”

“My excuse was that he was going to use physical violence of his own will, when he was technically only allowed to use magic against students that teachers sent him to.” Draco explained, “Haven’t spoken to him since, good riddance.” There was a nuance of superiority to his words, as if the roles had changed and it was now Goyle who was below him, which is exactly what had happened. Draco saw Goyle as absolutely nothing, below dirt. He'd always known Goyle wasn't the best person, but now he knows how bad he really is.

“Did you never know he felt that way? Didn’t he know you’re gay?” Hermione asked.

“Besides the fact that I radiate fabulousness, no, it wasn’t discussed because it was never relevant to our conversations. I knew he didn’t really like gays, but I didn’t think he was violent about it. I really never should have been friends with him, but, he was who I was expected to befriend.” Draco looked at the ground for most of his explanation. He was ashamed for having been friends with Goyle. But it was a bit conflicting as he used to genuinely consider Goyle to be his friend. He thought they were close and that they may even be friends for years to come. But his actions towards Seamus crossed a line that Draco hadn’t even known was there.

Ron shook his head, incredulous to the lack of control in Draco’s life. “Did you ever choose anything for yourself?”

Draco thought a moment. “No.” He finally concluded, realizing that every aspect of his life had been controlled and predetermined. “Not until I started rebelling in my own way. I don’t know why or when or what line was crossed, but somewhere in fifth year I had enough. I think it had something to do with Dumbledore dying. Even if it was part of Dumbledore’s plan, I still hate that I had any part of it.”

Everyone looked momentarily sad at the mention of Dumbledore’s death. Especially Draco, seeing as he was the one who was meant to kill him. Even though he only ever disarmed Dumbledore, Draco had genuinely planned on killing him. There was a silence amongst them as everyone was a bit brought down. Everyone except Harry.

Now that he’s had time to heal, he’s also had time to get angry. He's had time to realize just how fucked up and twisted some people in his life were. Although Dumbledore wasn't that bad, be still harbored a mix of resentment and respect for the man.

“I can’t say I miss him all that much.” Harry started, a bit cross, “Dumbledore knowingly put me in an abusive home, there’s no excuse when I had Remus still out there. Hagrid made it sound like even he was willing to take me in. Dumbledore had other options. He didn’t have to put me in that place. But he did.” Harry huffed as he was hit with another realization. “Hell, he was in the Order! He knew Sirius, but he did nothing for him! Probably because he knew he couldn’t manipulate Sirius like he could Snape, used the memory of my mother like a pawn. I could‘ve had my godfather.” He backtracked a bit and clarified, “I’m not saying Dumbledore didn’t have good intentions, those intentions were to take down Voldemort. But his means, they were immoral and manipulative. Perhaps I’m just angry about having been a pawn, but it’s inexcusable to me.”

“You were abused?” Neville asked. That part was the only part that really stuck out to him. Harry being abused was certainly news to him. He never would have suspected it, but perhaps, that was the point. If Harry was being abused bad enough to be scared for his life, then it only makes sense that Harry wouldn’t make his situation known.

Harry went pale.

He never explicitly said it before.

Now that it was out there in the open, no one had anything to say on it. It was news to almost everyone. Hermione had her suspicions, but Ron had been certain for a long time.

Ron spoke up, “I remember you acted strange around my family. You were always careful, hesitant, didn’t talk too much, you were surprised when anyone spoke to you, surprised when my mum fed you, at how much food you were given, and ..... there were these little offhanded comments. When my mum threw out some burnt food you said that you usually only ate what you accidentally burnt at home, and once when you said you had never had any Christmas or birthday presents. You would flinch and look sincerely scared whenever one of my brothers would play-fight with you, you would get scared whenever you heard someone coming up the hall, slamming doors and broken dishes terrified you. I-I think we all knew, but we didn't want you to talk about it if you didn't want to. That’s when I realized how bad the Dursley’s must be. You still don't have to talk about it if you don't want to, but if you do, that's fine too.” He wanted to give Harry the room to have the conversation if he wanted to.

Harry looked away, staring at the floor. He was silent for a moment and then confessed. “At first, I wanted them to love me. I wanted so badly to have a family. But I guess one day I gave up. I was given old ratty clothes to wear, all too big. I was made to cook and clean every day, if I burnt something on accident then that was my meal for the day, and sometimes I was able to sneak scraps. But eating wasn’t always worth what would happen to me if I didn’t cook right. I would go days without food. I was a punching bag to my cousin. My uncle never hit me, but his words hurt me more than any hand could. My aunt, I never knew what she was going to do. She was creative.” Harry tilted his head, his expression became unreadable.

The newfound honesty was strange to Harry. He never thought he would tell anyone about what actually happened. But there he was, spilling it all to his friends. He never thought anyone would know. But once he started, he let it all out, “Then school came around, it was the only place I could eat. But it was stressful to balance school, homework, and my chores. I didn’t have friends. My cousin bullied everyone into staying away from me. Most people ignored me, some helped my cousin bully me. I was isolated and abused. I had nothing. I didn’t even have a room, I slept in the cupboard under the stairs. Although we had a few guest rooms. I didn’t have toys, or anything. I never had birthday or Christmas presents. When they found out I was a wizard, they lightened up some because they were afraid of me. Now, I don’t talk to them, and they don’t talk to me.”

Harry sat up and looked everyone in the eye again. “Then I come here, where I find out I’m famous for something I don’t remember and didn’t do on purpose. I’m bullied, but it isn’t nearly as bad as before. For the first time I have friends, clothes that fit, and food. Then I discover people who want to kill me. I have a family, a godfather, I have people who want to love me but the world hates them. For a moment I thought of Sirius as a father, but I was stupid to believe something good would last. Then I try to tell people about this genocidal maniac who’s trying to kill me and nobody believes me. So I start teaching my friends to defend themselves because the adults wouldn’t help. Then everyone who cares for me starts dying one by one. Then I discover that my purpose in life was always to die, so I just ..... calmly walked into the forest, and I accepted it. For a bit, I really did want to die. For a bit I wished he killed me. But no. I survived, and even more people died.”

Dean felt ashamed for having never noticed that his friend had been hurt. He felt like he should have seen the signs. “Harry, I had no idea.”

“Of course you didn’t. I never told anyone. They would hurt me if I did.” Harry paused a moment before continuing, “You know I never really feared Voldemort. I was never afraid of him because there was nothing he could do to me that would ever hold a candle to what happened in that house. He couldn’t hurt me like they could, that was my only comfort.”

In that moment, everyone’s opinion of Dumbledore changed. But they would never tell anyone else.

“My grandmother, she ..... she was old-fashioned. Strict.” Neville said, but it was obvious he wasn't comfortable talking about his own experience.

Harry understood. “I know, Neville. I’ve known since the moment I met you that you were like me. But I guess I never said anything because I knew we were both afraid of what would happen if other people found out.”

Just like before, no one had anything to say on the news about Harry’s previous living conditions. Instead, their minds were replaying everything they should have noticed. All the strange comments, flinches, lack of eating, the little moments that didn’t make much sense. All the little signs that showed something was going on, but they had written off as Harry just being strange.

Conversations slowly started up again, talking about other things. Tests and spells. Normal stuff. It wasn’t that they were pushing aside the conversation, but it was understood that Harry didn’t want to discuss it any further.

Then, the conversation looped around to Neville’s crush.

“Come on, tell us.” Ron encouraged.

Neville blushed a bit, “Alright, fine. There’s this girl, Hannah Abbott. We’ve been talking a lot. I really like her, and I think she likes me too. But I’m too nervous to ask her out. She’s way out of my league.”

They spent the next few moments trying to encourage Neville, but he was having none of it. “Guys, really, it doesn’t matter. I’ll get over her eventually.”

Draco shook his head and leaned over to Harry, knowing Harry was probably already trying to figure out how to set Neville and Hannah up. “So, we’re going to set them up?”

“Of course.”

“I know Hannah, we’re both from pureblood families, so we’ve been acquainted. I can talk to her about her feelings for Neville.”

“Depending on what she says, we can figure out how to get them together.” Harry said with nod, “Then we need to work on Dean and Seamus.”

Draco scoffed, “Please, Neville isn’t as hopeless as them. We can get him and Hannah set up by the end of the week. Dean and Seamus, that’s gonna take some time. You say they’ve fancied each other since third year?”

“They’ve both confessed to us that they like each other. Over the years we’ve watched them fall deeper in love, and we’ve been trying to encourage them, but they won’t listen.”

Draco sighed, “A challenge then." His mind was already reeling with possibilities. He gave Harry a reassuring smile. "Don’t worry, we’ll get them together before Christmas.”

“Finally." Harry was glad to have someone who was willing to seriously meddle in Dean and Seamus' lives in order to get them together. Everyone else had insisted that they let Seamus and Dean come together naturally, but Harry knew that wouldn't happen. "On the train here, Seamus sat on Dean’s lap.”

“Figures, he looks like a bottom.” He commented as if it were a perfectly casual thing to say.

Harry furrowed his eyebrows, a bit bewildered. “And what exactly does a bottom look like?”

“You.”

Harry’s cheeks went pink from the accusation. “I’ll have you know, I don’t bottom.” He wasn't even sure why he was humoring Draco with the conversation, but he felt the need to defend himself.

Draco raised an eyebrow, a bit surprised, “Oh, so you’re into blokes?” He thought Harry was only interested in girls. His comment about Harry bottoming was meant to only be a joke, but perhaps it was a bit more serious than he thought it was.

“I’m in to everyone.”

“I prefer wizards.”

Harry tilted his head, remembering childhood gossip from earlier years. “There were quite a few rumors that you’ve dated a few girls. Not to mention the one you took to the Yule Ball.”

”And they were only rumors. Probably started by the other purebloods who couldn’t believe the only heir to the House of Malfoy isn’t interested in the gender that can produce a child. As for the ball, we went as friends, and considering that boys were taught one part of the dance and girls were taught the other, there wasn't too much room for same-sex couples. She now happens to be engaged to a woman.” Draco then turned the question around. “What about you? I never heard of you being with a man.” He's heard rumors about Harry as well. About him and Cho, Ginny, and a number of other girls. There always seemed to be some girl after his affections.

“We weren’t exactly a couple, but me and Cedric Diggory had a thing." Harry confessed, biting his lip. It was still a bit hard to talk about since he considered Cedric to be his first, and honestly his only, real relationship. "He wouldn’t take it past kissing because I was a bit younger than him, and he didn’t want my first time to be a horny teenage decision. He didn’t want me to throw it away. We called it off in the beginning of fourth year since things were getting a bit dangerous. But uh, then Voldemort decided he should die. So.” He took a deep breath, surprised that he didn't tear up at the mention of it. Of course there was a ball of emotions sitting in his chest, but it was much easier now than it was a few months ago.

Draco’s eyes widened, and he quickly pondered how he should respond to that.

“Don’t say you’re sorry." Harry blurted out before Draco could even open his mouth. "Niceties don’t make it better.”

Draco nodded and decided to say, “Are you then? Still, a virgin?”

Harry shook his head, a bit annoyed at how often he’s asked this. Just about everyone who flirts with him asks, and given that he’s the ‘chosen one’, a lot of people flirt with him. “Yes, I am.”

“Really?” He was shocked, he figured Harry could land just about anyone he wanted.

“Well, it’s a bit hard to find a place to lay with someone in Hogwarts." That and he wants to abide by Cedric's wishes and not let his first be a horny throw-away. He does want it to mean something.

“Not unless you’re willing to do it in the bushes.”

Harry let out a surprised laugh, “Did you?”

“Multiple times.” Draco bragged.

“Merlin!”

“Oh don’t act so scandalized. Be honest, how far have you gone?”

“Kissing.”

“On the lips, or other places?”

“Just the lips.”

Draco froze a moment, hardly able to believe what Harry was saying. He blinked a few times and tilted his head. “Seriously?”

“What?” He didn't see what was so surprising about it.

“There are so many people who would love to be with you!” He pointed out, still in a state of disbelief by Harry’s lack of experience.

“I was only ever with Cedric and Cho. With Cho, we were more of a rebound relationship. It wasn’t real. I was quasi-responsible for her boyfriend, my ex, being murdered. Neither of us knew how to cope or deal with those feelings. Not to mention I was a bit stressed because of my situation at home and people wanted to murder me. I really don't want my first to be something meaningless. It never meant much before, but Cedric taught me that it should.”

Draco lopped the conversation back around to their original topic. “So if the furthest you’ve gone is kissing, how do you know you aren’t a bottom, then?”

“I’m going to pretend I don’t hear you.” He was willing to humor the conversation earlier, but honestly he had no real evidence to prove what his role in sex would be, so he figured it was better to deflect the conversation than admit he had no argument.

“You know I’m right, you just don’t want to admit it.”

Harry didn’t respond, because Draco was completely right.

“But sex is the best stress reliever.” He didn't want the conversation to end yet. They had honestly never had one as long as this. He considered himself lucky to have gotten this far with it, and he didn't want it to just stop now. He's found himself enjoying their conversations. He liked that he could have agreeable conversations with someone that was different from him. He was taught never to bother being civil with those under him because they were always wrong and backwards. Of course, he didn't believe that now, and seeing as Hermione was always his biggest intellectual rival, he never really believed it. But he also had never bothered to be civil with anyone who wasn't a pureblood Slytherin.

Harry gave in and responded. “According to you." He scoffed, "It can’t be that great.”

“Oh come on, it’s better than wanking.”

Harry raised an eyebrow and spoke rhetorically, “I lived under the staircase, in a room with five guys, in a spare bedroom of a house where I’m beat for making too much noise, with my best friend in his room, and now with you. Please tell me which one of those situations is best for wanking?”

“You can’t just be quiet?” He spoke as if silence was the obvious solution, which it was, but it was a bit more complicated for Harry.

Harry looked uncomfortable for a moment. “I-Is it normal to be quiet?”

“Are you loud?”

Harry was silent, contemplating how honest he should be before saying, “I never mean to be.”

Draco’s face lit up like a Christmas tree. “Oh that’s precious. Don’t be embarrassed. When was the last time you wanked then?”

Harry’s face went dark red. “I really don’t want to get into that.”

“Alright, no problem. But there is no normal. Loud or quiet, both are fine. Don’t be embarrassed. Just a few more months and you can live on your own in a secluded house where you can be as loud as you want.”

“I swear I’m gonna hex you.” He sighed out the words.

Draco smirked and gave a grunt. “My father will hear about this.”

Harry busted out laughing. A grin spread on his face, and he almost fell down. His laughter was deep, coming from the pit of his stomach. It boomed through the room and commanded attention. He looked up with tears in his eyes.

Ron’s jaw dropped and then his expression slowly faced to a mix of concern and horror, “I haven’t seen you smile since Christmas.” He spoke softly, but it was loud enough that everyone heard it.

It then dawned upon Harry that he hadn’t smiled in almost a year. “Oh. I suppose I just woke up one day and didn’t smile anymore.” He said with a casual shrug.

No one said anything, but everyone felt bad for him. It was quite shocking to find out their friend hadn’t smiled in nearly a year. It made them all rethink their interactions with Harry to try to find a smile. There wasn’t one.

Harry, on the other hand, felt great. He got Draco acquainted with his friends, and they were going to set up two couples. He thought their time together went better than expected.


	5. Cuffing Season

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Draco sets up Neville and Hannah, discusses Teddy Lupin with Harry, and finds himself wrapped up in Harry’s newest secret society.

Draco spent the day trying to track down Hannah Abbott in an attempt to set her and Neville up. He asked around and was eventually told she was in the library.

He entered and wandered around a bit, looking down the rows of books as he hurried along, wanting to catch her before it was too late and the library closed for the night.

When he finally hunted her down in the library, he stayed back for a while. He still wasn’t completely sure on how he should proceed with setting her and Neville up. He knew he needed to find out her feelings first, but he also knew she wouldn’t just confess her emotions to him. They weren’t exactly close. So he decided he would work at an angle to get to the truth.

He sauntered up to her with a smirk. “Hello Abbott. Rumor has it you’ve fallen for Longbottom.” He figured if he claimed there was a rumor then she would either confirm or deny it.

Hannah looked up from her books, not expecting to run into Draco at the library, but also taken aback by his accusations.

She scoffed. “Who told you that, Malfoy?”

“Depends, is it true?”

Hannah looked away, looking over her books again. “Depends, who told you?” She pressed on, determined to find the snitch.

That told Draco all he needed to know. “You just did." He said with a victorious grin. “If you didn’t like him, you would have denied the rumor. Which, by the way, doesn’t exist. I suspected you fancied him on my own, I see the way you look at him when you two talk.”

He had to have an excuse since he didn’t want to tell her that he was asking with the intention of telling Neville. At least, not at the moment. It depended on how casual she was about the conversation.

Hannah glared at him. She was mostly upset with herself for having fell for his lies. “Fine, so I do fancy him. What of it?”

That seemed casual enough for him.

“I want to help you. Neville fancies you but he says you’re out of his league. If you want, me and Potter have been aching to give him a push to finally ask you out.”

Hannah looked at him suspiciously, still unsure about him. Of course, she knew he came through in the end, but she still wasn't sure about him. He was a Slytherin after all. “Why would you help us out? Out of the kindness of your heart?”

“I want to help because Neville is a friend of Harry and I, and we want him to be happy.” Draco responded coolly, he was also a bit proud because he knew it wasn’t the answer she was expecting. But he was still a bit saddened that she would think so low of him.

She took a mental step back, realizing she had misjudged him. “Sorry.” Up until then she never would have thought she might have a prejudice against Slytherins. But perhaps, she needed to be more careful in how she judged people.

“Don’t worry about it. I’m Slytherin, most people don’t trust me.” He was used to being treated differently because of his house. He considered it part of the reason that everyone else in his house was so easily swayed to Voldemort's side.

“Still, it’s no excuse. Thank you, Draco. Really.”

“No problem. But be warned, Neville’s awkward when he talks about his emotions so prepare for the most uncomfortable confession possible.”

“You think he’ll do that bad?” Hannah chuckled.

“No, but it doesn’t hurt to prepare for the worst.”

With that, Hannah and Draco parted ways.

Draco headed to dinner, and then to his dorm to tell Harry about what he discovered.

He walked in and found his roommate studying for Charms. “I talked to Hannah Abbott. She fancies Neville.”

Harry looked up and grinned at the news. “I was thinking we tell Neville that you and Hannah were talking, and she happened to confided in you about her crush. I think Neville only needs a confidence boost.”

He agreed, “That’s probably best. I suppose we’ll tell him tomorrow. He and Hannah will be together by the weekend.”

Draco was glad to get Neville paired up with his crush. Neville deserves happiness, especially after all he went through. As his thoughts were momentarily on Neville, he briefly remembered that when his family tree was being shown to him, the Longbottom family were featured on it. He also remembered he even had a relation to the Wealsey’s.

“I’m related to him.” Draco decides to mentioned to, he thought it was a bit interesting.

“Neville?”

“Yea. My mum’s a Black. One of her relatives married his great grandfather, and another married Ron’s grandfather. I’m related to the both of them.”

“I didn’t realize everyone was related.”

Draco let out a grunt and commented, “The Black family are a bunch of over-dramatic sluts. Everyone’s related to them.”

Harry let out a laugh at the brash comment. It certainly explained Sirius. Not to say he was a slut, but he was.

“Oh, I’m related to Edward too, Remus’ son. His grandmother is my aunt.” He knew Harry and Remus were close to he decided to throw that out there as well. He figured it was a good thing for him to establish how he’s connected to many of the important people in Harry’s life. It was as if he was trying to mark his own place in Harry’s life, as if to say he’s always been there, and not only as a bully.

“Edward?” Harry questioned before realized who Edward really was. “Right, I’m so used to calling him by his nickname that I forgot his real name. I’m his godfather.”

“What’s his nickname?”

“Teddy.”

Draco beamed, immediately recognizing who Teddy was named after. “Oh, like uncle Ted! He was a right bastard, in a good way. He was hilarious, at least I thought so. No one else seemed to get his humor.”

Harry was practically floored because he had never realized how big of a connection Draco was to Teddy. Up until then, he never would have guessed that Draco could be related to so many prominent people in his life.

“Have you ever seen him?” Harry asked, referring to Teddy.

“No, you?”

“Not yet. I want to. He’s not even one yet. I’d really love to see him.”

They talked a bit more about Teddy and the possibility of seeing him. They found that they both wanted to, but they didn’t know how his grandmother would feel about it, as she’s currently caring for him. Harry was nervous that she wouldn’t want someone around that was so directly connected to the deaths of her daughter and son-in-law. Draco was nervous that she just didn’t like him and wouldn’t want someone around who was directly connected with the man who started it all. But they both figured Harry had a better chance of being allowed to see Teddy.

Their conversation eventually dissolved into silence as they both needed to study.

About an hour later, Harry spoke up again, “I’m part of another secret society. Want to join?” In addiction to the Order and DA, of course he found yet another society of rebels to join up with. He spoke about it so casually, as if it meant absolutely nothing to him. Quite a way to talk about a secret society.

“Sure, what is it?” Draco didn’t even look up from his book on potions, completely unaffected by Harry’s words. He’s gotten to the point where he’s used to all of Harry’s quirks and doesn’t even blink twice anymore.

“It’s the Society of People Who Believe Dean and Seamus Should Shag.”

Ah, a sarcastic society. Of course. One that was made with the sole purpose of setting up Dean and Seamus. Draco could only assumed that Harry had made up the name on the spot and had only labeled it a secret society in order to get Draco interested. It worked.

“I’m in.” He said with a shrug.

“Meeting starts in a few minutes in the common room.”

“Who else is in it?”

“Hermione, Pansy, Ron, Neville, and Luna.”

“Pansy?” Draco was quite shocked to hear that Pansy Parkinson of all people, was interested in setting up Dean and Seamus. Two people that she had also bullied.

“Yea. Her and Hermione are roommates, so I imagine she heard about the pining from Hermione and wants to help.” Harry had also been surprised that Pansy wanted to help out. Maybe it was because of how Draco changed, but part of him hoped that if he gave Pansy a chance, she’d prove to be better than she was.

Draco blinked a few times. It does sound like Pansy to mess in the lives of others, and she was always an excellent matchmaker. Might as well start using her skills for good.

Pansy had always been a bit like him. Not very interested in blood, only caring about it because she was made to, and every aspect of her life was controlled by her parents. That’s why they were so close. They were the only ones that they could be honest to for all those years. Every time they questioned their parent’s beliefs, they went to each other and found that they weren’t the only one who didn’t understand or didn’t think it was right. It was the only real friendship Draco had. At first, their friendship had been predetermined, but on their own, they made it real. Draco considered Pansy to be one of the few good parts of his childhood.

When they got in the common room, they found Hermione and Pansy sitting on the couch by the fireplace, chatting away about different professors and classes. They seemed to get along quite well, which was a bit worrying because somehow, genius and evil were getting along. Draco could only pity the poor soul stupid enough to get on their bad side.

Ron and Neville were next, all that was left was Luna. She arrived five minutes late, her excuse was that she was helping the house elves tidy up a mess in the hall left by some underclassmen. It was very kind of her and it was something that Draco never would have considered doing.

The meeting started with Harry talking about how he was about two seconds from throwing himself off the Astronomy Tower if Dean and Seamus didn’t hurry up and wed.

It was a striking statement, but agreement came from all sides of the group and ideas were thrown around.

Neville suggested they lock Dean and Seamus in a room together until they confessed. Everyone agreed it was a good plan, but a bit rash.

Pansy suggested they break into their room and leave rose petals and condoms everywhere. That was only a joke. She later followed up with a serious suggestion that they expose their feelings for each other while they’re both present. Pansy’s second idea was met with support, it would be the most blunt and simple solution. But there was still a bit of hesitation as the group wanted Seamus and Dean to get together on their own.

Ron figured they should use a truth syrum to force them to be honest about their feelings. That was met with a little more resistance, using magic to start a relationship didn’t seem like a good idea.

Luna thought it would be best to keep encouraging Dean and Seamus and let them confess on their own. That ended up being the most supported idea.

Hermione seemed to be in between everyone. She thought magic should be a last resort. Her reasoning was that the relationship should start off naturally, and that using magic to make it happen wouldn’t be as genuine as two friends confessing their love for one another. She mostly agreed with Luna and added on the idea of trying to set give Dean and Seamus little pushes a long the way.

Harry had absolutely no clue how to set them up. He was never a matchmaker, didn’t have much experience with relationships, and wouldn’t trust himself to meddle in other people’s love life. He came to the meeting with the intention of following someone else’s idea.

Draco agreed with Hermione as everyone else had covered some of the most obvious solutions.

In the end, they had their game plan.

They would try to encourage Dean and Seamus to get together, trying to make their relationship begin as organically as possible. If that didn’t work, they would expose their feelings to each other. They knew that something as rash and blatant as that would be hard to ignore or write off. But if Dean and Seamus still beat around the bush, they would try locking them in a room together. The truth serum was their final solution.

With their plan set, they prepared for the next day.

Draco also made sure to tell Neville that Hannah did fancy him, Neville thanked him and turned pink. He was grinning the rest of the night.

They planned and schemed together, excited to set it into motion the next day. Dean and Seamus deserves happiness, they deserved each other. But most of all, everyone was to their wit’s end with Dean and Seamus’ pining. Everyone was sick of it as it had been going on for years now.

There wasn’t much they could do in the way of orchestrating ‘little pushes’ between their friends. They knew most of it would have to be spur of the moment. But they managed to get a few ideas down to try to encourage romance between the two.

Poor Dean and Seamus were completely unaware of what their friends were up to. They were laying in their dorm together, in separate beds, talking to each other. They were talking about everything under the sun. Their classes, professors, futures, and who they wanted to end up marrying. No topic was too personal for them. They were like open books to each other.

On the subject of their dream spouse, Seamus revealed he had a pretty solid idea of who he wanted to be with.

“Oh, I’d fancy a nice lad. Someone taller than me, with black hair and dark eyes. I’ve also found myself a fan of short hair, little curls too.” Seamus said, all while thinking of how gorgeous Dean’s arse is. “I’d like someone kind, who likes sports just as much as me.” He bit his lip, “Someone, maybe a bit tan.” He was getting worried that he was being too obvious, but Dean was none the wiser.

Dean considered it a coincidence that he had those features and loved sports.

“What about you? Fancy a nice lass?” Seamus asked, curious about the answer but afraid it would break his heart. He asked out of curiosity, but part of him was nervous that he would get a description of some beautiful girl.

“Actually, no.” Dean said, surprising himself. He had never explicitly stated his sexuality before, but he figured now was as good a time as any. “I never gave it much thought before, but, I’ve realized I like men.”

Seamus sat up, “Merlin, Dean. Why wouldn’t you tell me something like that?” Of course, he was ecstatic to have received news such as that. Dean being gay was the best response he could've hoped for.

Dean shrugged, “I don’t know. I guess I never thought it was important, and it never really came up before.” He paused a moment, going back to Seamus’s previous question, “I think I’d like a nice lad. Shorter than me, sandy hair, blueish-green eyes. I like short hair too, but not too short. I also like a few freckles and a little cleft chin, adorable. Actually, I really like freckles. They’re so cute. I think I have a thing for Irish accents too.” Like Seamus, he was a bit worried that he was being too obvious.

Somehow, Seamus considered it a coincidence that he had those features and was Irish.

But he was quite hopeful knowing Dean likes Irish men. He felt like maybe he had a chance.

Truthfully, it was sort of pathetic. They always used the war as an excuse, saying it was too dangerous to start a relationship, but really they were scared. At first, they were scared of the other dying and of rejection. They figured it was better to cherish what they had, while they had it.

Now, they were so used to just being friends that they were scared to take the next step forward. Again they were complacent with what they had and where they were. They figured it was better to be friends than suffer rejection and ruin what they had. Especially now that the war was over, after all they been through, after all they lost, and how they’d grown together. They figured it was better to just take what they still had.

Little did they know, it wasn’t about to last much longer thanks to their meddling friends.


	6. Making Moves

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry and Draco both take steps towards their future careers, they also push Dean and Seamus together.

The next day, Harry found himself pacing outside of McGonagall’s office. He wanted so badly to speak with her, but he was nervous about what to say. He wasn’t sure how to ask such a thing from her.

After about five minutes of pacing, he heard a voice, “Mr. Potter, if you take one more step you’ll give me a headache. Come inside.”

It was McGonagall.

Harry hesitated and then entered, still unsure of how to go about his request. “Yes?”

“Have a seat and tell me what brought you here.” She offered. She obviously knew something was wrong, but it was unlike Harry to beat around the bush like this.

Harry sat down and stared at the floor for a moment. He quickly gathered his thoughts. “I uh, I heard our Defense Against the Dark Arts professor is temporary.” He wasn’t sure how to start it, so he went with the easiest conversation starter that was still on topic with what he wanted to discuss. He didn’t want to have to traverse an entire conversation just to get to what he really came for.

McGonagall nodded, picking up on what Harry really wanted. “It’s true. Just a temp until we find someone permanent.” She already knew why Harry was asking. “Speaking of which, you were amazing in your training of DA. You taught such advanced magic to your peers.”

Harry smiled and gave a nod, “Oh, thank you. Uhm.” He gulped, “I suppose I’m asking you about this because I have interest in the position.” He felt like an idiot fumbling around with his words.

“I know. And if I had to pick someone right now to take over, I’d choose you in a heartbeat. Keep your grades up and see me about an application after you graduate.” She offered, not even thinking twice about it. She knew Harry was interested in the job, she knew he could do it as evident by the DA, and she trusted him.

“Really?” He asked, “Just like that? You’re just handing over the job?”

“Would you like me to recant my offer?” She threatened.

“No ma’am, I’m just surprised. May I ask why you’re giving me the job?”

“First of all, Mr. Potter, I’m not giving away the job. I’m telling you that if you want the job, you should fill out an application like everyone else. Don’t confuse me for some groupie. You’ll go through the hiring process like everyone else. Secondly, I want to hire you because you know what you’re doing. I’ve seen that your teachings work. It saved lives. You also seem to be a natural fit for the job, given your history. Now, do you want the job?”

Harry quickly nodded. “Yes ma’am, thank you.” When he left, there was a noticeable spring in his step.

\- - - - -

Draco was in a very similar conversation with Madam Pomfrey. “Basically, what I’m trying to say is, I’m very interested in being a Healer and I would like to see how you do your job.”

Pomfrey raised an eyebrow, “You’d like to shadow me?”

“Yes.”

Pomfrey tilted her head, looking at him a moment. She’s watched him grow up through the years, all in all, she’s proud of the person he’s become. She decided to take a chance and gave him a shrug. “Alright then. Come by whenever you can. Help out enough and you may end up being my unofficial assistant.”

Draco beamed, “Thank you so much!” He hadn’t expected it to go so well. He expected to be sent away with some explanation as to why he can’t learn the trade.

“We could always use the help anyways. Turns out magic and children aren’t the safest mix.”

“Especially when they’re in an old castle with a moving staircase.” He added, remembering the few times he’s tripped and fallen when the stairs move unexpectedly.

Pomfrey cringed, “We always get a wave of first years at the start because of those things.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow then?”

“Of course! See you tomorrow, Malfoy.”

\- - - - -

Draco and Harry told each other about their plans for the future while they were waiting to set up Dean and Seamus’s first push.

Sort of.

It was more of an intel operation.

Theoretically, Harry was to casually mention that Dean looked attractive and gauge Seamus’ reaction.

In practice, Harry took it a step further.

He and Draco sat with Dean and Seamus during potions. While Dean was off getting an ingredient they missed, Harry took his chance.

Dean was bent over, rummaging through a shelf, and Seamus was trying to keep the potion at the proper temperature.

Harry and Draco already finished their potion so Harry leaned over to Seamus and said, “Damn, Dean has a nice arse, huh?”

Seamus immediately looked over at Dean and his cheeks went pink. He stared a moment and, lo and behold, the potion exploded.

Harry wasn’t sure how it even happened, he’s fairly certain that Seamus has some sort of natural pyrokinetic ability that flares up sometimes. It would make sense considering the fact that he’s made things blow up before that shouldn’t of blown up. The first example that comes to mind would be the feather that he made burst into flame in their charms class. He was supposed to make it float, then suddenly, the feather was charred and Seamus’ face was covered in soot.

Normally the explosion would elicit a laugh from Harry. But this time, it was different. He flinched and thought of Fred.

Seamus’ eyes went to the potion, shocked. Dean stood up and turned to face them, a grin on his face because he recognized the sound of the explosion. He laughed as he approached, “Guess you got excited about something, huh?” He seemed to know a bit about Seamus’ power.

Seamus nodded and gave a nervous smile, “Sorry.” It was always embarrassing when he made things blow up, he never means to. But it always ends up happening. Usually whenever Dean is around. He’ll get nervous or giddy and everything will blow up in his face.

“Ah, no big deal. But we might should get you to a bathroom and clean you up.”

Draco noticed Harry’s flinching and hesitantly asked, “Are you alright?”

“Fine.”

Dean and Seamus left with Slughorn’s permission and that night, Draco reported their findings to the group. “Harry pointed out Dean’s arse, and Seamus got so excited that his potion blew up.”

That received some giggles, but it only motivated their next plan. To do the same to Dean.

This time Draco was put in charge. Harry and Seamus went to go get ingredients while Draco and Dean looked at the potion’s instructions.

Draco waited a moment before casually saying, “I never noticed it before, but Seamus has beautiful eyes.”

Dean immediately agreed, “They’re gorgeous. I still haven’t decided if they’re more blue than green or vice verse. I think it’s mostly blue with a little green hue. He also has those lovely specs of brown near his pupil, it’s beautiful.”

“Lovely accent too. I was never around many Irishmen growing up, so I never realized how attractive it sounds.”

“It’s quite charming.” Dean agreed. But he was also getting a bit suspicious by how much Draco has suddenly noticed about Seamus. He didn’t know what Draco’s intentions were, but he wasn’t happy about it. Not in the slightest.

He eyed Draco suspiciously for the rest of class, standing closer to Seamus than normal, even wrapping his arm around the boy’s shoulders.

Draco noticed what Dean was doing, and he thought it was absolutely hilarious. But he didn’t comment on it. He let Dean continue to display that Seamus wasn’t available.

Draco reported his findings to the group that night and there was no doubt that Dean and Seamus were still completely infatuated with each other, even after four years of nothing.

\- - - - -

The girls were in charge of the next push. Of their three couches set up by the fireplace, Luna pretended to sleep across one, Pansy “accidentally” spilled fire whiskey all over the other, and she and Hermione flanked Dean and Seamus on the third. To “make more room”, Seamus offered to sit on Dean’s lap. Dean’s arms wrapped around Seamus’ waist, and he rested his head on Seamus’ shoulder.

The position seemed completely natural for them, as if it was how they sat every day. Seamus leaned back against Dean and Dean held Seamus like a child clinging to a stuffed animal.

Dean always enjoyed the warmth of Seamus on his lap. He also enjoyed how relaxed Seamus became in his arms. He was proud to hold Seamus, like it was certainly something that not many people could say they’ve done. He buried his face into the back of Seamus’ shoulder and closed his eyes, deciding he could sit like that forever.

Seamus always relaxed because Dean was practically a radiator, giving off ridiculous amounts of heat and warming Seamus from the inside out. He loved being held by Dean. Something about it made his heart flutter and swell at the same time.

\- - - - -

One day when Ron and Dean were in Charms, Ron mentioned that he couldn’t wait for Christmas because he had the perfect present idea for Hermione. The conversation was meant to be a ploy to get Dean to confess to his feelings and then, Ron was to reveal that Seamus likes Dean in return.

They talked about couple stuff and then Ron shifted the conversation to ask if Dean still fancied Seamus.

“Of course I do, he’s perfect.” Dean said before changing his mind, “Well. He isn’t perfect. He has flaws. But they’re so charming and quaint, they make him even more perfect.”

Ron smiled warmly, knowing exactly how Dean feels. He briefly thought of how beautiful Hermione is before continuing. “Why not ask him out then? It’s obvious he likes you. Come on, he’s always so eager to sit in your lap, he practically fawns over you. Even Pansy and Draco have noticed.”

“Really? Is it that obvious?”

“Mate, Seamus’ feelings for you are just as obvious as yours for him. Everyone knows you like each other.”

“Does he really fancy me?”

“Of course he does. Stop doubting yourself, you’ll both be happier if one of you just makes a move.”

Across the room, Neville and Seamus were having the same conversation.

\- - - - -

Next up was Pansy’s solo mission. It was the start of October by then, everyone was getting fed up with how long it was taking.

She took a very direct approach as she wasn’t one to beat around the bush. She brewed Amortentia and carried it with her to study potions with Dean and Seamus.

While they were studying, Seamus mentioned the potion smelled exactly like Dean’s cologne, but Dean laughed and said it smelled more like Seamus’ shampoo.

Pansy raised an eyebrow and casually mentioned that the potion was Amortentia.

The boys didn’t say anything after that.

Pansy wasn’t sure if their reaction was amusing or infuriating.

\- - - - -

They tried and tried until mid-October. Multiple times a week, every week, pushing romance between the two but still, nothing happened. That’s when they moved on to Plan B, exposing them. They settled on doing it like an intervention.

Seamus and Dean entered the common room to find all their friends waiting for them. They weren’t sure what was going on, they were told during lunch to meet them there. They were a bit nervous that they were going to receive some sort of bad news. They figured maybe there was another threat, or that someone else died.

Instead, after they sat down, they were met with an exasperated Neville. “Lads, you’re killing us. You’ve been in love with each other since third year, you both said you wouldn’t ask the other out cause there was a war, now there isn’t one, you need to do something about your feelings before we all kill ourselves.”

“Seriously, we all know you’re in love. It’s obvious and it always has been.” Hermione encouraged.

“Fact is, you’re both daft and clueless. We’re at our wits end with the both of you. If you don’t confess now I’m gonna lose it.” Ron said with a sigh. He was really over it and wanted them together already.

“Dean. If you don’t fuck Seamus, I will.” That’s all Harry said. At that Dean grabbed Seamus and pulled him onto his lap. Dean wasn’t even sure what had come over him, all he knew was that Harry could not have Seamus. Seamus was a bit coy about it, but flattered nonetheless. They were both a bit embarrassed, but they were also overjoyed at knowing how the other felt.

“You both like each other. It’s obvious. There’s no war, no more dark wizards out for blood. Just be together, be happy, life is too short to beat around the bush.” Draco encouraged, taking a much lighter approach that Harry.

Luna smiled, “Draco’s right. You two were meant for each other. It’s rare to see something like that.”

Seamus turned to look at Dean, “D-Do ya really like me like that?”

“Of course I do, how could I not? Seamus, I think I’m in love with you.”

“But what about when you were with Ginny?”

“That wasn’t real. We were both trying to push ourselves towards the people we were expected date ‘cause we figured the people we really liked weren’t obtainable. I always thought you were out of my league.”

Seamus sighed, “Well, you did have me jealous as all hell. But, I’d like to be with you, if that’s what you want too.”

“Of course it is.”

“Finally!” Ron exclaimed, he was exhausted of their pining. He felt like a weight had lifted from his shoulders.

“Damn. Looks like I can’t shag Seamus.” Harry said, feigning disappointment.

Seamus laughed and Dean nodded, “Your damn right you can’t.”

Harry smiled, “Oh well, at least I still have Ron’s brothers.”

“No you don’t Harry, stop trying to sleep with my entire family!”

“Hey, I would never shag Molly. She is a refined woman and she deserves better. And Ginny’s a lesbian and I respect that.”

“You would shag my dad?!” Ron’s voice jumped in pitch due to how shocked and disgusted he was.

Harry sighed with dreamy eyes to further irritate Ron. “I would do many things to Arthur.”

Ron shook his head and looked like he had just eaten something sour. “Harry you sick bastard.”

Besides the brief shock from Harry’s licentiousness, everyone celebrated a moment before Draco spoke up, “You know the silencing charm, right?” He asked.

Dean looked confused, but nodded.

“Good, because me and Harry are your neighbors, and we don’t need to be kept up so late.”

Seamus grinned and laughed while Dean buried his face in Seamus’ shoulder, the both of them suddenly aware of what Draco was implying.

Draco tilted his head, raising an eyebrow, “Perhaps I was wrong, Seamus might not be the bottom after all.” He mumbled to Harry, who jabbed him in the side.

“I’m not going to have this conversation again.”

“Are you still embarrassed because you’re too loud when you w-“

Harry cut him off with another jab. “I’m gonna kill you.”

“My father will hear about this.”

“Can’t tell him if you’re dead.” Harry threw back.

“I might be a ghost.”

“Oh Merlin, the torture.”

“All night, all day, just Draco.” He taunted.

“I wouldn’t last a week.”

“Then you can join me and I can bother you for all eternity.”

“I’m starting to think you just have an obsession with me.” He teased with a smirk.

“Of course not.” Draco threw back, almost sounding disgusted by the accusation.

Harry went with it, “Talking about me all the time to your friends and family for years. Always spying on me, keeping tabs on me, constantly wanting to know what I was up to. You must be in love with me.”

Draco laughed, “Never.”

“Mm, never say never.”

“Now I’m gonna kill you.”

“All night, all day, just Harry.” He threw back the taunt.

“You’re stealing my threats. Must be because they’re so refined and genius.” Draco spoke with a fake air of superiority.

Harry and Draco found themselves always having conversations like this. Always teasing and joking. They got along as if they had known each other for years. There was, of course, the occasional breakdown. But they stood by each other’s sides.

Especially when Draco started his unofficial apprenticeship with Madam Pomfrey, he needed a bit of homework help since he had less time to do everything. Harry would also sneak food from meals so that Draco would have something to snack on after he came back from the hospital wing.

He encouraged Draco to be a Healer, thought it was an amazing career choice. “I bet you’ll cure Dragon Pox or something, go down as a genius.” Draco would always roll his eyes at that, but truthfully he needed it, he needed someone to support him and make him feel like he could do it. He was finally choosing something for himself.


	7. The Face Of A Father

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry finally visits Teddy.

The house was by no means a Manor, but it was large enough to house about twenty people. He knew that inside there was only an old woman and her grandson.

When it was purchased it was likely bought with the intention of being filled with love and affection. Instead, there were only cold spots and empty rooms. But now there was a baby to breathe new life into the home.

Harry walked up to the door and hesitated, wondering if maybe he should turn back. His nerves about being turned away were lighting up inside his brain.

Sirius never would have turned his back on Harry.

So he took a deep breath, unwilling to turn his back on Teddy. Even if he was turned away, he would find a way to Teddy, he would always find a way.

He gave two quick knocks and then heard slow footsteps heading towards the door.

He didn’t know why he was so anxious and doubtful, but he was. He was worried that he wouldn’t have any part in Teddy’s life. Perhaps he was worried Teddy would turn out like him, alone and yearning for love. Worried that Teddy would grow up miserable and unhappy like he did. But he had to remember that Teddy isn’t like him, and Andromeda isn’t like the Dursley’s.

The door opened to reveal a woman with brown hair, spotted with greys. Brown and wise eyes.

Harry gave a small smile, “Uh, hi, I’-“

“I know who you are, Harry Potter.” Andromeda said with her chin raised and an authoritative aura about her. “I also know why you’re here, to see your godson.”

Harry nodded and stayed silent, strangely intimidated.

“Come inside.”

She stepped back and opened the door more for him to enter.

He stepped inside and heard babbling. His eyes lit up with excitement, anxiety disappearing at the sound of Teddy.

“I’ve been expecting you for a while. I assumed you would want to get settled at Hogwarts before you came here.”

“I’ve been thinking about coming all summer. But there were some things I needed to get over first.”

“I understand.” She said as she led Harry into the sitting room. There were a few baby toys and a stuffed rabbit on the floor.

In the middle of it all was a baby with teal blue hair and big brown eyes. His face was a spitting image of Remus. He was laying on his stomach, looking around at his toys, occasionally picking one up and shaking or chewing it.

“He can do what Nymphadora could do.” Harry commented.

“Metamorphmagus.” She clarified, “She was hoping he would inherit it. In the hour he was born his hair went from black to ginger. Occasionally his eye and hair color will flicker, but this seems to be what he prefers. Well, I need to go attend to some letters I received, I’ll let you two get as acquainted as you can be with a six-month-old baby. I’ll be in the dining room if you need me.”

Harry gave a nod and then approached Teddy, he sat down before him and waved.

Teddy looked up at him and smiled, “Ahh!” He squealed happily.

He smiled warmly at the baby, “Hey Teddy, I’m Harry. I’m your godfather.” He introduced.

Teddy babbled along, introducing himself.

“Well it’s very nice to finally meet you. How have you been?”

Teddy babbled the few syllables he had picked up on, “Ba ba ba ba.”

Harry nodded, “That’s wonderful! How’s your grandmother? She’s a very lovely woman, you know.”

Teddy stuck half his hand in his mouth and hummed happily. He then picked up one toy and handed it to Harry.

“Oh, this is so cool. Thank you for sharing.” He said as he examined the toy and then shook it like he saw Teddy doing earlier.

Teddy laughed and then reached for Harry. He hesitated a moment before picking up Teddy and setting him in his lap. He wasn’t used to babies and wasn’t sure how to bond Teddy, but he tried his best. Teddy leaned back against him, unable to completely balance himself enough to sit up. Harry got him up straight and kept an arm around him. “How’s that? Better?”

Teddy silently reached up to grab Harry’s glasses.

“I really should've seen this coming. I’ve never been around babies so much, but I figured the hair pulling part couldn’t be so true. Guess I was wrong. You want my glasses huh?”

He leaned back and tried to avoid Teddy’s hands, but eventually he ended up falling onto his back and Teddy finally snatched his glasses.

Harry squinted as the world went slightly blurry. “Thief.” He commented as Teddy licked a lens.

He let out a laugh as Teddy tried to stick a lens in his mouth and quickly took the glasses away.

“Well now I can’t see.” He commented as he began cleaning his glasses. Teddy watched intently as Harry cleaned the glasses with his shirt and then put them back on.

Teddy tried to go for the glasses again, but Harry quickly distracted him with one of his toys. A rattle shaped like a wand. Cute.

He shook it and Teddy’s eyes quickly fixated on the object. He handed the toy to Teddy who shook it and laughed at the sound, then he babbled while chewing on the end.

Harry sat up and smiled, when he looked down he saw a wet spot where he was coated in baby drool. He didn’t care, it was strangely adorable.

“You’re pretty cool for a baby.” Harry joked, Teddy didn’t understand because he’s a baby, but he giggled anyways.

Teddy didn’t know who Harry was. All he knew was that there was a brand-new person at his home, and this new person is playing with him. So he figured Harry couldn’t be half bad. He decided he liked Harry, but if Harry tried to keep his glasses away for much longer, that opinion might change. He wasn’t sure yet. He wasn’t sure about a lot of things. But he knew that he loved that woman that holds and sings to him. That’s about all he was sure of. He also doesn’t like peas, he knows that for certain.

Harry was almost shocked by how much Teddy resembled Remus. Their faces were exactly the same, but his chin and jawline were more angled and define like Nymphadora’s. He looked so much like them, even with his blue hair.

He almost felt sick looking at Teddy, but he loved him so much already. His chest was crushed by his own emotions as a few tears fell from his eyes. He blinked through them and found Teddy was staring up at him.

“You look just like your father.” Harry sighed out the words before his throat could tighten and cut off the words.

Harry and Teddy ended up playing for the whole afternoon once Harry got his bearings.

While Teddy was sleeping, Harry and Andromeda talked a little while longer.

They talked about plenty of things. But they didn’t talk about the dead, that was too hard and some things were just better left alone.

They talked about how Harry was doing in school and about what he wanted to do for a career. The conversation went over to Draco when Harry mentioned that they’re roommates.

“I saw what you did in The Quibbler, how you defended Draco. Rumor has it they got every word of your defense down. I’m proud of Draco, he did good.” Andromeda said with a soft smile.

“Yea, me too. He even wants to be a Healer.”

Andromeda seemed pleased by Draco’s career choice. “He always had a sparkle in his eyes that his parents didn’t have. I always knew he’d turn around. Tell him he can come visit Teddy anytime.”

Harry nodded, “Thank you. He’s been asking about Teddy, I know he wants to see him.”

“Well, I better get the house elves started on dinner. You’re welcome to stay if you want.”

“I can’t, I have to get back to Hogwarts. But thank you.”

Andromeda gave a nod, “You’re welcome back anytime.”

“I’ll come back as soon as I can.” He promised.

With that, he left.

He made it up to his dorm and flopped on his bed. Seeing Teddy made his day. It filled him with a strange hope for the future. Like everything would be alright.

Draco entered and raised an eyebrow. “Meet Teddy?”

“Yea. Metamorphmagus, like his mother. His face is a spitting image of his father. He can hardly sit up on his own, and he’s babbling away.”

Draco nodded and sat down on his bed. “What is he, six months now?”

“Yep. He smiles a lot too.” Harry paused a moment and then added, “Andromeda said you can come see him anytime.”

Draco looked up and smiled, “Oh, I’m glad. I’ve been wanting to meet my little cousin.”

“I can’t wait till he’s a bit bigger. I wonder what his first words will be.”

“I’d imagine they would be something along the lines of, Harry is a cunt.” Draco suggested with a sweet smile. He loved starting little arguments with Harry.

“Or perhaps, Draco’s a git.” Harry threw back.

“Oh please, he’s a baby. Babies don’t know what lying is, so he could never say such a thing about me.”

They ended up talking the day away, nearly missing dinner. After which, they wasted even more time together. They talked about any and everything. Nothing was too far between them. It was nights like these where they could heal. They talked about the people and the things they didn’t want to talk about with anyone else. The dead, the pain, the loss, the sadness. They let it all out.

They spent the night going over their lives. The details, the feelings, the regrets.

Sometimes they went all in on their conversations, they opened up so much that they showed bone. No wound was too ugly or deep.

It was bitter, but they always felt a bit better afterwards. It forged a bond between them. But they didn’t just share bad times. They talked about good times too. Sometimes it was just as painful. Nevertheless, they always felt better.

Neither of them really understood how or why they were only like this with each other. But they didn’t question it too much, having someone there to talk to was more than enough.

Their conversations weren’t all sad. Sometimes they spoke of the future. They talked about marriage, kids, careers, houses, pets, every little detail. They talked about the present too. How their classes were going, homework, who got caught sucking dick in the bathroom, who stole whose man, and just about every other normal teen thing.

They were in a bubble. Just them. The outside world didn’t exist at all. There were no worries, hesitations, or doubts. There was nothing beyond the walls of their room. They were together, safe and sound in a bubble. Nothing else mattered.

Fall came through, and their old lives seemed to grow old and die with the leaves. In these small hours they found ways to let go and move on. Everything was changing. But for the first time, they weren’t scared of what was to come, they were ready for it. They were finally able to shape their own futures and nobody could stop them.

They had never been so broken and free, until the sun set and their conversations began.


	8. October 31st

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It’s the anniversary of the death of Harry’s parents, the day the Marauders’ lives fell apart, and the day that Harry’s life was stolen from him.

From the moment they woke up, Draco knew something was wrong.

Maybe it was the way Harry didn’t talk as they got dressed, that his eyes were a bit duller, or the way he looked at the ground as he walked, but something was wrong.

At breakfast, Draco felt anxious. He wondered if it was something he had done that caused the change in Harry. He wondered if Harry changed his opinion on Draco and saw him as a monster now.

The Dark Mark on his arm was extremely faded. It would eventually become nothing more than a small scar. He found comfort in that.

He spent his meal laughing and smiling with Pansy, but on the inside he was analyzing their interactions for the past week to try to identify where he messed up. He wanted to identify his mistake, so he could rectify it as soon and possible. The only problem was that he wasn’t sure what he had done wrong. He thought everything between them was going great. They had never been closer.

He started to wonder about Harry’s interactions with others, so he could try to identify who hurt Harry.

On his way to his first class, he still hadn’t figured it out. But he felt a rush of hope when he saw Ron and Hermione. “Granger! Weasley!” He called out, still unsure if he could call them by their first names.

They turned around and he caught up. “Is Harry alright?” He asked.

Hermione looked a bit sad and said, “It’s the anniversary of his parent’s death.”

Oh. Well that explained it.

“How could you tell? Most people can’t.” Ron commented, “He’s an expert at trying to hide his feelings.”

“His eyes were dull and he was quiet.” Draco said without even thinking.

“Didn’t realize you spent so much time gazing into his eyes.” Ron teased with a smirk.

Draco rolled his eyes. “Oh? Shows how observant you are. I’ve also noticed you haven’t complemented Granger on the fact that she’s changed her conditioner. Strawberry instead of the usual coconut. But what would I know? I spend all my time gazing in Harry’s eyes.” He threw back, unwilling to let Ron best him.

Ron was silent and Hermione gave Draco a high five.

It was a pretty sick burn.

Draco went on to class and felt a bit better. Not only did he best Ron, he also found that he wasn’t the reason for Harry’s sadness.

Now he has to figure out how to make Harry feel better.

He sat next to Harry in potions. They didn’t talk much, not until it was time to brew the potion.

Draco wanted to be what Harry needed. He wanted to be there if Harry wanted to talk, hold him if he wanted to cry, make him laugh if he wanted to be cheered up, and he would talk all night if Harry wanted a distraction. But he didn’t know how to say it.

During their silence while Slughorn was teaching, Draco tried to come up with a way to cheer Harry up.

“Hey, your friend Ginny’s doing amazing in Quidditch this year. Almost knocked me on my arse last match.” Draco remembered with a grin.

“Yea, she’s a bit aggressive, but that’s what makes her good. She gets in your face till you back down. She intimidates people into forgetting about the game and moving out of her way. One of our strongest players.” Harry agreed.

“You’ve been doing good too, even though you’re blind and you’ll never have my raw talent.” He threw out. One thing that he’s discovered is that Harry thinks it’s hilarious when he acts all overly pompous and spoiled. It never fails to make Harry laugh, so he figured then was as good a time as any to break out the act.

“You bought your way onto the team, dammit!” Harry countered, “You bought your way on and I will never let that go. I did it with talent, you paid your way in.” He was quite passionate over the fact that he got on with talent alone and Draco got on with a paycheck.

Draco raised an eyebrow, “Oh? But I do believe I was the reason you were flying around and got noticed by McGonagall in the first place. You're welcome, by the way.”

“I’m gonna kick your arse, Draco.” Harry laughed, “One day I’m gonna throw you out the window.”

Draco tsked and shook his head, “No, I’m too gorgeous to be on the dirty ground. You’ll realize your mistake and come to my rescue.”

“Don’t count on it.”

“Of course not!” He sighed, “I’m too pretty for math. Now get on with the brewing, I’m too rich to do work. I’m exhausted anyways, being this beautiful isn’t easy.”

Harry almost fell over laughing, “Draco, you git.” He said as he brewed their potion. Of course Draco helped, but he made sure to keep his act up to make Harry laugh.

From across the room, Ron, Neville, Hermione, and Pansy were at a table together.

Neville glanced over and said, “We’d better not have another Seamus and Dean situation.”

“They may be dumb, but certainly they’ll be able to recognize if they start acting like Dean and Seamus did.” Ron pointed out, hoping that maybe Harry wasn’t as oblivious as he used to be.

Hermione shook her head, “I doubt it.”

“I bet twenty sickles that they’ll end up oblivious.” Neville said with a smirk.

“Ha! I bet five galleons they’ll stay oblivious until we help them.” Pansy countered.

“Oh, come on now. They aren’t even in love yet.” Ron pointed out, making sure to end his statement with “yet” as it was obvious that it was eventually gonna happen.

Hermione smirked over her cauldron, “Ten galleons says they’ll try to spend Christmas together.”

\- - - - -

Hermione only grew more smug later on. Draco caught her and Ron between classes and asked them for a favor. He gave them twenty galleons and asked them to buy whatever Harry likes from Honeydukes, and to get as much of it as possible.

They agreed and then Draco went off to go bother Harry.

\- - - - -

During lunch, Draco talked with the few of his Slytherin friends that remained after the war. He and Pansy had done a complete 180, turning right around and rejecting the ideals of their parents. Ideals that they had never entirely been comfortable with anyways.

They talked about classes, their futures, family members that had been arrested, crushes, all the normal teenage bullshit.

Draco left halfway through lunch to go assist Madam Pomfrey in the hospital wing.

He was learning about all kinds of plants, potions, spells, and charms that could be used to heal different ailments. It was to the point that Madam Pomfrey would ask him what he thought would cure the illnesses and injuries of the different students, Draco tended to guess correctly.

He was getting better every day, and he was so proud of his life. Pomfrey even trusted him to treat minor injuries all by himself. He’s become especially fast at bandaging people up, and he’s always been excellent at potions, so he’s even brewed a few medicines.

After his shift in the hospital wing, he went to charms, where again, he relished in making Harry laugh.

Rather than having Slytherins on one side of the room and Gryffindors on the other, they were intermingled for the first time. It was something that had done on their own.

He made jokes, whispered sarcastic commentary on the class, and gave a dramatic and detailed narration of Harry as he attempted the new charm. Harry, of course, responded by laughing and threatening to hex Draco.

After their classes, Hermione approached Draco with a large bag full of candies. “Here you go, all Harry’s favorites.”

Draco looked in the bag and let out a chuckle. “Hm, he’s a fan of chocolate and mint. I always figured he’d take to the ridiculously sugary candies.”

“Well you are what you eat, and Harry is one bitter bastard.”

Draco chuckled, “You’re a genius, Granger.”

Hermione hesitated a moment before correcting him, “You can call me Hermione, if you’d like.”

Draco was a bit surprised, but at the same time, he was honored. “Oh, I wasn’t sure how you’d feel about it.”

“It’s fine, really. After all, I’ve been calling you Draco for weeks now.”

“Alright then, I’ll see you around Hermione.”

“See you, Draco.”

He had a renewed confidence as he entered his dorm, but it wavered when he found Harry curled up on his bed. He wasn’t crying, but he seemed numb.

“Are you alright?” Draco asked.

“You know, don’t you?”

“I asked Ron and Hermione after breakfast. They told me what today was.”

“How did you even know something was wrong?”

“You seemed unhappy.”

Harry was somewhat impressed. Most people never noticed when something was wrong. He grew up unable to talk about when he was upset and the habit grew with him. Of course, he was trying to beat it, but it was hard. “So you’ve been trying to cheer me up all day?”

“I was hoping to. I got you some candy from Honeydukes. Well, I gave Ron and Hermione the money to go get the candy for me.”

“Because you’re too pretty to do work?”

Draco grinned, “Precisely.”

He handed over the bag of candy and Harry dug in.

Draco chuckled, “Slow down, you’ll spoil your dinner.”

“Whatever you say, mom.”

“Merlin, I wish I was half as beautiful as her.”

Harry paused a moment and looked up at Draco. “Did you just call my mother beautiful?”

“I’m gay, not blind.”

Harry let out a chuckle, “Can you imagine how different our first meeting would've been if I looked like my mother but had my father’s eyes?”

“With red hair and hand-me-down robes?” Draco jokingly scoffed, “Must be a Weasley.”

Harry let out a laugh, “Malfoy, Draco Malfoy.” He mocked, pitching his voice up two octaves just to pick on Draco.

“My voice wasn’t that high!”

“I thought you were a girl.”

“No you didn’t!”

“As far as I knew, you were a young lesbian.”

“I can’t believe this is how you treat me after I bought you candy.”

Of course, they were just joking, anything to distract Harry.

“Don’t be embarassed, you were a cute lesbian.” Harry spoke without even thinking. Of course, he thought Draco was cute. They might've been enemies, but Harry wasn’t blind. At least, not with his glasses on. But he didn’t mean to so carelessly admit that he was attracted to Draco. He cringed as soon as he realized what he said.

“Firstly, I have never been interested in women. Secondly, you thought I was cute?” This definitely wasn’t how Draco expected the conversation would go. He never would have thought Harry would go and say something like that.

Harry opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out. He tried again, “Well, I-I mean. Uh.” Was all he could manage.

“It was the hair, wasn’t it?” Draco joked, trying to lighten the mood and get Harry to relax.

Harry was serious, “I had never seen hair so blonde and light before. I thought it was beautiful.” He figured he might as well be honest since he had dug himself into a hole.

Draco’s smug look dropped and his cheeks went pink. “Really?”

“Yea. I thought you were cute.”

Draco decided that if Harry was going to be honest, then he could be too. “I always admired your eyes. I’d seen green eyes before, but they’re always either mixed with blue or very dull. Yours are bright, pure green. You were a looker.”

Harry raised an eyebrow and gave a small smile. “Were?”

“Maybe you still are. I don’t know. I’m too rich to pay much attention to commoners like yourself.”

“I’m literally richer than you. My family’s vault has been collecting interest for centuries, we’ve always been a bit frugal, and we kept inventing potions. I’m loaded.”

Draco smirked, “Oh, you’re rich too?” He sat beside Harry with an interested expression, “Tell me more about your money.”

Harry cracked a smile, “I think I liked you better when you thought I was just a commoner.”

Draco chuckled and gave a smug grin. “Is my gorgeous blonde hair too distracting?”

Harry gave a small smile before putting another candy in his mouth and staring at the floor. He did feel a bit better with Draco’s joking, but it was still a bit of a rough day for him. Of course, he wasn’t as upset as he used to be, but reading his mother’s journal put a lot into perspective for him.

Draco bit his lip. He could tell that a distraction isn’t what Harry really needed. Perhaps he wanted to talk? Draco wasn’t too sure. He wanted to help, he never liked seeing his friends upset. But he also knew that the only way he could really help, is to ask what it is that Harry needs. No point in guessing around, and Draco has never been one to beat around the bush.

“Harry, I want to be here for you, I really do. But I need to know what you need. Do you want a distraction, to talk, to cry, to be left alone, to sit together in silence, I need to know.”

Harry mulled it over a bit, not completely sure himself. He decided to go for the one thing he never did on Halloween. “I want to talk.”

“Then I’ll listen.”

“I was never sensitive about my parents being dead. Wasn’t until I realized how fucked the Dursley’s were that I understood I was being abused and that it wasn’t normal. Hell, there are still things that are fuzzy for me. Things where I don’t know if it was abuse or not. I don’t understand normal. Then I had Remus and Sirius, I still have the Weasley’s. But I lost my last connection to my parents.” Harry reached up and gripped the silver lily around his neck again, “I want to move on, but I don’t think there’ll ever be a day when I wouldn’t kill to see them. This was the day that ruined my life.”

“Lots of people want to move on, but it isn’t easy.”

“I know. It’s hard. With Remus and Sirius, it felt like I had family. They were as good as blood. Not to say the Weasley’s weren’t, but they couldn’t tell me about my parents. I almost had them. Now I’m a godfather, I am to Teddy exactly what his father and Sirius were for me.”

Harry mumbled a little more before turning to Draco. “What about you? I know you’ve lost people.”

Draco never spoke about what he lost. He felt like because they were Death Eaters, it wasn’t valid. They were the bad guys, so their deaths didn’t matter. But Harry wanted it, so he went for it. He wasn’t sure why, but he was willing to do whatever it took to make Harry feel better. He could tell that Harry’s done all the talking that he wants, but now it’s a distraction he’s looking for. So he spoke about the people he lost, who they were to him, how he remembered them, how they died, among other things.

Harry listened. All this time he’s been sort of alienated to Death Eaters, it was hard to imagine them as multidimensional people with lives and feelings and passions. But perhaps it was easier that way. It’s easy to hurt a stranger, it’s easy to hurt someone if you don’t see them as a full person. Not to say he saw them as less than human. But he didn’t know their ambitions, families, he knew nothing about them besides their anger. It’s easy to hurt someone when they seem like a background character in a story with no backstory or life. It’s very easy. It was in that moment that Harry realized, if he ever needed to hurt Draco for some reason, he wasn’t sure that he could do it. He didn’t want to hurt Draco, but if he had to, he would hesitate first.

Hesitation was a funny thing. In the army, any soldier would tell you that if faced with a child and adult hostile, you always shoot the child first. This is because a child won’t hesitate to kill you, but an adult will think it over first. When a child becomes a soldier, they lose their empathy, their humanity. But an adult stays rational and thinks things over. That’s one of the reasons why Harry never taught the DA anything deadly, because he knew that if he did, the battle would have been nothing more than a massacre, and Harry wasn’t going to let his friends become murderers.

They both ended up talking. Laying their trauma on the table. Harry went from the day his parents died, the abuse at the Dursley’s, Snape’s obsession with his mother, the many times he’s almost died, the friends and family that died, all the way to the time that he did die. Temporarily.

Draco went from the expectations he had to live up to as a kid, the ideals of his parents that he questioned, the unhesitating wrath of his aunt Bellatrix if he questioned their beliefs, his struggle with his sexuality, how he questioned his own friends, his struggle with his identity, his breakdowns and self-loathing, all the way to the day Harry showed up to court and saved him.

It was strange to unload all of your baggage before someone else.

But they needed it.

Even after the unpacked their problems, they kept talking. They talked about whatever.

Harry speculated about his upcoming job as a professor and Draco talked about his unofficial internship with Madam Pomfrey. They talked about grades, classes, finals, their friends, everything.

They kept the rest of the night as lighthearted as possible.

They wanted anything but to let their thoughts wander, and Harry desperately needed to be distracted. They didn’t want to be sad, they just wanted to get through the night.

Then, it was November first. They missed the Halloween feast, but they didn’t care.

”So, you really haven’t wanked before?” Draco still wasn’t over it.

Harry huffed, “I’ve wanked a few times before, but I haven’t exactly been anywhere that I could wank.”

“I know, in a cupboard, a room with five guys, your best friend’s room, in a house where you had to be quiet, and now you’re with me. But seriously, how many times?”

“I could count it on one hand.”

“No! You’re so deprived!”

“I’m really not. It isn’t that big a deal.”

“But your life has been so stressful. You have to wank.”

“I really don’t have to.”

“Every boy wanks an unfathomable amount in his youth!”

“No they don’t.”

“Yes they do, the average is almost daily.” Draco pointed out.

Harry was surprised by the statistic, then his expression changed to that of light trauma. “All those years, with four other boys.....” he trailed off, in shock by the sheer amount of discreet getting off that would amount to.

Draco nodded, “Someone was always wanking in there.”

“Merlin! It isn’t like you’re wanking almost daily.”

“I am.” Draco confessed, not shameful in the slightest about it.

“While I’m here?”

“Of course.”

Harry couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Draco! I’m right here! I’m right in the room with you, only a few feet away, and you get off?”

“You’re so embarrassed, it’s adorable.” Draco commented rather than answering the question. He didn’t bother with an answer because they both knew what the answer would be.

“I can’t believe this.” Harry held his head in his hands, chuckling a bit.

“But you never know when I’m doing it, cause I’m quiet. Unlike you, apparently.”

“Shut up.”

“Tell me about the first time you wanked.”

Harry rolled his eyes, but it was late, and he was slightly delusional, so he gave in. “Ugh, fine. Since you’re just dying to know.”

His face went red as he recounted the story. “I was thirteen, in the room I had been given at the Dursley’s. I’d had boners before, but I never did anything. It was a much less stressful time, so I think my body got sick of my shit, and one night, I had a dream. When I woke up, I was rutting into the mattress like a dog in heat. At that point, I couldn’t stop.” His face turned red and he looked away. “Thankfully, I was quiet enough that my voice didn’t reach anyone else’s room. When I was done, I was too exhausted and I just fell back asleep.”

Draco smirked, “When you aren’t used to it, it can be quite tiring.”

Harry rolled his eyes.

“Are you worried it’ll happen again?”

“What?”

“A dream. You said it yourself, it happened cause you weren’t wanking or stressed. You sure you aren’t gonna wake me up one night, rubbing yourself in your sleep?”

Harry’s mouth opened to defend himself, but then he realized Draco was right. “Merlin, what if it does happen again? Oh shit.”

“Harry, it’s cool. I’ll understand and I’ll just fall back asleep, really, don’t be embarrassed. It’s perfectly normal.”

“For you, but not for me. I happen to have self-control.”

Draco raised an eyebrow, “You humped the bed in your sleep and you got so far you almost came on yourself. Then when you woke up, you needed it so bad that you did cum on yourself.” He pointed out, not about to take Harry’s shit.

“Can we stop talking about this, it’s embarrassing.” Harry said with flushed cheeks.

Draco complied and changed the subject. Harry’s face was so red he figured the boy might explode from embarrassment of Draco continued to push the subject.

They kept talking until about two in the morning. That was very late for them, considering they usually didn’t even stay up to midnight.

By two, they were laying together in Harry’s bed, stripped to their boxers. They didn’t think twice about stripping and having a sleepover because they were high off staying up late.

Soon, they were under Harry’s duvet, mumbling about how they couldn’t wait for breakfast in the morning.

They eventually fell asleep together, only inches apart.

Sleep closed the gap between them. Their bodies were happy to feel the warmth of another. They were very used to sleeping alone, but the warmth of another body was too tempting to resist. It was comforting, relaxing, it was just what they needed.

When they woke up, Draco had an arm thrown around Harry, who’s face was in Draco’s chest.

It was a pleasant wake-up, until they noticed they were both awake. They slowly and awkwardly pulled apart, silently agreeing to act like it didn’t happen. But on the inside, they wouldn’t mind if it happened again.

They were both still sleepy, but thankfully they still had some time before they needed to get up. They slowly separated and mumbled a “goodnight” to each other, though the sun was slowly rising.

They awoke again a few hours later, when it was actually time to get up.

This time, they weren’t embracing.

They slowly got up and got ready for the day.

As they walked to the Great Hall, Harry was sure to say, “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For being there for me. Last night was a lot better than usual.”

Draco was glad he made the night easier for Harry. “It’s no problem, really. You’re one of my best friends.”

Harry smiled, “You’re one of my best friends too.”

With that, they parted ways to sit on opposite sides of the Great Hall.

They were both grinning and giddy over their night together. There was a fluttering in Draco’s chest while Harry’s held fireworks. Draco’s excitement was a shyer and more coy one, still a bit embarrassed by how they woke up, even though he enjoyed it. Harry, on the other hand, had a spring in his step, and he made it obvious that he was very happy about something.

Harry’s friends were surprised to find him grinning and half-asleep.

“Rough night?” Neville asked, just in case they were reading Harry’s expression wrong.

“No, actually. Last night was lovely. Draco and I spent hours talking till we both passed out in my bed.”

With that, there was no doubt that Harry and Draco would end up like Seamus and Dean.

Ron was disappointed that his friend was so oblivious, Hermione was smirking over the fact that she was about to win so many bets, and Neville already wanted it to be over.

It was so obvious, even Seamus and Dean noticed.

Nobody asked why Harry and Draco missed the Halloween feast, everyone had an idea as to why, but as long as Harry was happy, nobody minded.


	9. Radiant, Ethereal, Lucent

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry does a bit of research on the world around him and gets a phenomenal idea with Hermione.
> 
> Meanwhile, he and Draco get closer as autumn rolls through.

Staying up late and talking was starting to become a habit between Draco and Harry. It had slid into their lives without either of them being aware of it, it quietly became part of their routine. They never fell asleep without having a conversation that went on until some ridiculous hour of the night. But they did tend to stay in their respective beds, blaming that on the high emotions and delirium of the night.

They also helped each other study and do homework, anything to pass time together while the sun was still up.

Draco saw himself improving in Herbology since he enlisted Harry’s help, which was important considering potions and Herbology were the two most important classes for a future Healer.

Harry, on the other hand, was seriously excelling in Defense Against The Dark Arts, which had become his focus. Because he focused so heavily on DADA, Draco had to make sure he was keeping up in his other classes, which wasn't too hard since Gryffindor and Slytherin had classes together.

He was also helping Hermione come up with a list of changes that she and the other eighth years are going to work on when they join the Ministry next year. There was a whole group of aspiring Ministry workers at Hogwarts, which wasn’t surprising as most Hogwarts graduates go into the Ministry. But they had a whole list of things they wanted to accomplish. Rights of Werewolves, of House Elves, fixing corruption, taking unequal power from pureblood families, regulating the use of Dementors, starting a form of child protective services, and many other changes.

Next year was gonna bring a lot of change, Harry couldn’t wait. Everyone who died in the war, died for this. He knew that his peers were also aware of this, which is why they planned to rain down upon the Ministry like a tsunami and push for change. Only a few more months before they would storm the Ministry with heavy hands, grounded feet, uncompromising morals, and minds of stone. They were certain to bring in a storm, and Harry was eager to watch.

He was also excited by the idea of working at Hogwarts, maybe even living in a small house of his own in Scotland. Somewhere away from everyone else. He wanted a bit of privacy. While his peers weren't finished fighting, Harry had nothing left to give. He'd given his friends, his family, peace of mind, sanity, his heart and soul, the best of him went into the war. But the rest of him, all that remains, is utterly shattered. He figured he could fight if he wanted to. He could storm in with his peers and hurl his broken pieces like stones, he could lead them with his tattered and worn spirit, he could go until he was so broken that he was nothing but dust, until the Ministry gave in to them. But then, he knew he would have absolutely nothing left. The best thing he could do was to take what he still had and build a life.

Draco, on the other hand, was starting to get a bit anxious about his future. He recently revived a letter from home. His father had been released from custody since he gave up so many names, but there were other stipulations with his release. The only one that effected Draco was that he couldn’t return to the Manor until he inherited it from his parents. Although it held some bad memories, it was still his home, and he was pissed. It wasn't that he was eager to go back, but it was still important to him. It's where his ancestors lived and died, it had all his childhood relics, his mother, his flowers, his room, and it was his birthright to own it one day, now they want to interdict him from entering. It angered him quite a bit.

Harry noticed Draco's frustration and asked what was wrong.

“My father gave up so many Death Eaters that he was able to use it to bargain for his freedom. He’s out. One of the conditions is that I’m barred from returning to the Manor until I inherit it.”

Harry’s face fell, “Well that isn’t right. That’s your home.” He was a bit upset for Draco, although he understood why the Ministry would make a decision like that, he still didn't think it was right.

“Looks like I need to find a new one, because after Hogwarts, I’ll have to be on my own.” He sighed as he began to wonder about what kind of home he would like to live in. He still had access to his family's vault and was certain they wouldn't mind if he used some money to find himself a place to live.

“Don’t worry about it, you have months to figure something out.” Harry assured.

Draco gave a nod, “Of course. No point in stressing now. Might as well take it day by day, at least, until it’s closer to graduation.”

With that, autumn became a time of change.

The two grew closer in a lot of ways. Their late nights were spent sharing secrets and life stories, they sat closer than before, laughed louder at each others jokes, touched more, wrapped their arms around each other, and occasionally could be caught staring at the other. They hadn’t even realized how close that had gotten.

Harry was also learning more and more about the Wizarding world. Little things he hadn’t quite picked up on but might need to know. Like where the hell house elves come from. As far as he knew, they just sort of appeared in people’s houses and worked there for some reason. It was strange to him.

One day, while reading a chapter on banks and finances in Wizard society, Harry got a terrible idea. He sprung up and sprinted across the common room to get Hermione. “‘Mione! I’ve got a terrible idea!”

“Oh, great.” She said as she stood up, getting off Ron’s lap. They had been studying potions together, but she recognized the excitement in Harry’s voice and knew he wouldn’t be quelled until she heard him out.

“I was reading up on currency. Galleons are gold and Sickles are silver, yea?”

“Yea.” Hermione agreed.

“And the silver to gold ratio in at a fixed seventeen to one ratio, because there're seventeen Sickles in a Galleon.”

“Yes.”

“But the silver to gold ratio fluctuates in Muggle economy.”

“Mmhmm.” Hermione was started to get very curious as to where this conversation was going.

“So, if the ratio were to be higher in the Muggle economy than in the Wizard one, it would be wise to maybe, melt a bunch of Galleons into pure gold, sell it in the Muggle economy, use the profit to buy silver for cheap, and then get the silver minted into Sickles.”

Hermione’s eyes widened, “Harry, you broke the damn system.” She found herself at a loss wondering why no one else had figured this out before. She assumed that those who weren't familiar with muggle finances probably didn't think to mess in it, and those who were familiar with it, either didn't plan on staying in Wizard society or just didn't think to meddle with it.

“You in?” Harry asked with a smirk, already knowing Hermione was interested.

“Of course! I’m going to look into it, give me some time, alright?” Might as well make sure what they were doing was legal and possible.

“Alright, let me know if you ever want to go into business.”

They both silently agreed that they weren’t going to tell anyone about their plot, no need to have everyone doing it. That could ruin the economy. But they might as well take advantage of their creativity.

Harry gathered his stuff and went back to his dorm, and he sat down on his bed with a grin, deciding he was done reading for the rest of the day, he’d spent many of his brain cells forming his brilliant idea.

Only moments later, Draco entered.

“Have fun taking care of the sick and injured?” Harry asked with a smile.

“No. Not in the slightest. We’ve got a sprained ankle and a broken arm from the Hufflepuff Quidditch practice today, and there’s an outbreak of Mumblemumps in the year four Ravenclaws. We got six in the infirmity and all we can do it let them rest.” He huffed and threw himself on the bed. “If I get sick, kill me. Just stab me.”

“I would have anyways.”

“Thanks, git.”

Harry chuckled to himself, “You’re good at this. Pomfrey might like you so much that she’ll hire you.”

“Then we could work at Hogwarts together. Who knows, maybe I’ll become head of the infirmity and be able to sit up with the rest of the staff at banquets.”

“Wouldn’t that be fun. For old times sake I could even say something about how stupid you are, just loud enough for everyone to hear.” He said with a slight sneer, poking a bit of fun at how childish they used to be.

“Then I could warn you that my father will hear about it.”

“And then we can hex each other.” Harry concluded in a dreamy tone, as if he wanted nothing more than to hex Draco.

“Ah, how fun.” Draco droned, somewhat sarcastic.

“At the very least it’ll confuse the shit out of some first years.”

They spent the next while fantasizing aloud about what it would be like to work together.

“I could send you anonymous Howlers about how pretty your hair is.” Harry joked, referencing their conversation a few nights ago where he revealed his attraction to Draco's hair.

Draco grunted, “And I’ll send you Howlers about how lovely your eyes are.”

They didn’t even realize they were flirting.

Idiots.

When it was time for dinner, Harry was excited to meet up with Hermione again and discuss their plot for riches.

He sat down at his table and Hermione turned to him. “Alright, I did some research and the bank will mint gold and silver, but they won’t melt it. We’ll have to figure out how to do that on our own. But besides that, the plan is good. I also checked the gold to silver ratio, it’s very high right now and shows no signs of dropping. If you wanted to try to beat the system like that, then I would recommend we start as soon as possible.”

“Then let’s do it.”

\- - - - -

With some help from Hagrid, who couldn’t have been prouder of their plot, they learned to melt gold and silver.

Harry withdrew about a thousand Galleons, melted them, and they ended up with just a little over a thousand ounces of gold. After selling it and using the money to buy cheap silver, they melted it, minted it, and ended up with about fifty thousand Sickles, which lead to almost four thousand Galleons.

They tried it once more a few days later with five thousand Galleons and while the ratio hadn't changed. They ended up with eighteen thousand Galleons.

They decided to stop after a few good runs. Until they had a better grasp of what they were doing, it was smarter not to meddle or risk their money.

But they both felt good about it. Hermione used the extra money she had to go ahead and buy Christmas presents while she could, even though it was a month and a half away. She figured that was the smartest thing she could do since she didn't like having to budget too much when she was getting stuff for other people.

Harry had been riding a high, until breakfast the next day. That’s when a Howler arrived. He didn’t recognize who it was from and the Howler didn’t say. The voice was obviously male, but it was distorted to sound unrecognizable. All it said was, “You have gorgeous eyes, Potter!”

Harry’s face went red, he wanted to curl up and die. But then he remembered, Draco.

Nearly the entire Great Hall turned to look at him, a few professors even busted out laughing. Everyone heard it.

“Seems you got a secret admirer.” Ron commented.

“It’s Draco, daft bastard.” Harry grumbled as he looked across the room at the Slytherin table.

He saw Draco smirking and laughing at him. Pansy looked like she was a mix of amused and annoyed.

Harry noticed the raised eyebrows of his friends, so he elaborated and told them about the joke he made about sending a Howler to embarrass Draco. “But I didn’t think he would actually do it.”

“It’s Draco, of course he’ll actually do it.” Hermione countered.

“Gonna do something about it?” Neville asked and Harry nodded.

\- - - - -

Early the next morning, Harry sent out a Howler of his own.

When mail came in the Great Hall, Harry watched his Howler settle in front of Draco.

He smirked when Draco’s eyes widened, knowing exactly what was about to happen.

The Howler spoke with the same altered voice as the one Draco sent to Harry, “Your beauty bewilders me. Moonbeams dance in your hair, stars twinkle in your eyes, you are as lucent as the sun. No celestial body can prove as ethereal as you, you who conquers the beauty of the heavens! You are a radiant light walking these dark halls, a creature of elegance and enchantment.”

Then it ripped itself up and Draco went bright red. He put his head down on the table, defeated.

Harry laughed to himself but it was soon interrupted by, “What the fuck, Harry?”

It was Dean.

He continued by saying, “That was ..... beautiful. You were supposed to embarrass him, not seduce him. That was poetic.”

“Oh, oops.” He honestly didn't think what he had written was that romantic or moving, he thought it was just a small collection of thoughts and observations from looking at Draco. His hair in the right light had white highlights that resembled moonbeams, his eyes light up when he's happy, when he's in sunlight his hair becomes a golden halo, and he has an aura of elegance about him, he's very graceful when he moves. Harry had taken these few observations, worded them in fancy language, and wrote it down.

“Good luck having to explain that one, mate.” Ron said, having faith that Harry and Draco wouldn’t end up like Seamus and Dean, he really hoped the Howlers might speed things along.

\- - - - -

That night, Draco had quite a few questions.

He burst into their room after dinner and asked, “Why were you waxing poetic about me?”

Harry shrugged, “I didn’t realize it was that much. I thought it was just a few little complements.”

“You thought THAT was an appropriate way to casually complement someone? That’s a love letter that you write to your betrothed before your wedding.”

“Sorry.” Harry said with a shrug.

After a short pause, Draco then asked, “Do you really think all that about me?” He assumed that Harry must have exaggerated or perhaps he had plagiarized some love letters or poems. He didn't think Harry was capable of such a profound statement to Draco's beauty.

“Duh, haven’t you ever used a mirror?”

Draco rolled his eyes, sitting on his bed. “Geez. All I did was publicly announce that I like your eyes, so you go and write poetry about how ethereal I am. And lucent! Conquering the beauty of the heavens, I’m a light in these dark halls, a creature of elegance and enchantment, I’m more ethereal than celestial bodies. Come on, Harry! That was poetry! Pure poetry! Nothing casual about that at all.”

“Alright, then don’t be disappointed if you get a Howler telling you you've got a nice arse.”

“The bar is set now. You can’t go back after that.”

Harry chuckled, “Then don’t complain. And don’t you dare complain a decade from now when you get a Howler waxing poetic about you.”

“A decade? Harry, you’ll be married off by then.”

“Maybe. Maybe not.” He shrugged.

Draco smiled and said, “I can’t wait to be married one day. It’s like a sleepover every night with your best friend.”

Harry looked up, eyebrows furrowed, “That-That’s the most adorable thing I’ve ever heard.”

“Well it’s true. I want to marry my best friend. I think that’s the best person to fall in love with.”

“Must be. My parents did it, Ron and Hermione did, and Dean and Seamus have.” He commented as he looked for his mother’s journal.

He hadn’t read it in about a month. He needed a break to process everything. But now, he was ready for more.

He left off in his mother’s fourth year. That’s when she and Snape began to drift apart, it’s also when she befriended Remus. She wrote a lot about him, saying he’s definitely a werewolf, even though hasn’t told her. She’s also started writing more about James. Apparently he adored McGonagall, but he took it to the next level. He would refer to her as, “Minnie, my love” and “the light of my life”. He also tried to ask McGonagall to the Yule Ball and then Sirius nearly fought him because apparently he also wanted to ask her.

Fourth Year was also when the more extreme pranks began. Lily wrote tirelessly about all the annoying pranks they were involved in.

He found himself smiling as he read all about his mother, father, godfather, and good friend. Peter was there too, bastard.

Harry held his necklace as he read, smiling as his mother’s memories.

He found himself in the beginning of Lily’s eighth year when he finally looked up. It was nighttime.

He looked over and saw Draco was reading a book on the healing properties of different plants.

Harry wasn’t exactly sure what to call the feeling that overcame him. He felt happy, warm, and lucky. He started smiling, and he wasn’t even sure why.

“Draco?”

“Yea?”

“I’m really happy that we managed to be friends.”

A smile crept onto Draco face, “Me too.”


	10. Restricted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry takes Draco to see Teddy and then spends the night out with Hermione.

Harry wasn’t sure why he did this, but the next day, when McGonagall called for him to hurry along to class, he responded with, “Yes Minnie, my love.”

He froze and cringed, surprised and embarrassed by his own actions. He hoped McGonagall would remember his father used to do it and forgive him.

McGonagall was shocked, not because he referred to her as Minnie, but because that’s exactly what James did all those years ago.

“Harry.” She said softly, “How did you know?” Even though he's a Potter, Harry was never one for shenanigans. At the very least, he wasn't one for unjustified rule-breaking. McGonagall knew that the only reason Harry would go and do something like that was because he found out his father was the same way, and he didn't seem to have done it intentionally, so it was a bit excusable.

“My mother’s journal.”

“Then you should know I got on your father hard about that.”

“Didn’t stop him. He was bewitched by you.” Harry teased with a grin.

McGonagall rolled her eyes, “Mmmhm, and I had a mind to hex him.”

Harry chuckled, “But you would never hex me, I’m much more charming.” He gave a playful smile, hoping it would encourage her to take it all as a joke.

“I wouldn’t test that theory if I were you. Now go to class.”

“Of course, my love.” Harry couldn't help but to milk it just a little bit. Of course he would never outright sass McGonagall, that didn't mean he couldn't have just a bit of fun with her.

McGonagall, however, wasn't in the mood. But she did keep her tone light enough for Harry not to worry about getting in trouble. “Unlike Draco, I’ll not stand for you waxing poetic about me.”

“You knew.” Harry said, surprised. He figured the letters had been anonymous enough.

McGonagall only raised an eyebrow, holding back a laugh since she found it obvious that the Howler had been from him. “I’m old Harry, but I’m not blind. I can see what’s in front of me.”

Harry gave a nod and then hurried off to class, deciding not to think too much about it. It was a Friday, and he was planning on taking Draco with him to see Teddy on Saturday.

\- - - - -

Saturday morning came around and Draco was the first one awake, hardly able to sleep with the excitement and anxiety of going to see Teddy. He got up and waited around a moment before becoming restless and deciding he would wake up Harry on his own.

He climbed on top of Harry and shook him.

“Wake up, Harry! It’s time to go see Teddy!”

“No. It’s early. He’s probably still asleep. Go back to bed.” Harry whined into his pillow.

“Come on, Harry.”

He was drunk on sleep. He reached up and wrapped an arm around Draco’s waist. He rolled over and brought Draco beside him without even thinking. “Shut the hell up and sleep, Draco.”

Draco was a bit surprised to find himself lying in Harry’s bed with the sleepy lad. For some reason, it made him smile. He closed his eyes and relished the moment. “I’ll give you ten more minutes.”

“What time is it?”

“Six.”

Harry was having none of Draco's shit. “Three more hours.”

“No!”

“Sleep.” Harry whined, burying his face in his pillow. He wasn’t in the mood for conversation, much less an argument.

Silence filled the room as Harry began drifting back to sleep, and eventually, his warmth and calm breathing lulled Draco into doing the same.

Harry woke up two hours later. Sleep had inched them closer together. He smiled and was about to get up, but something about Draco’s face made him not want to move. So instead, he laid there. Staring. He soaked up all the details. How his nose bent, how his lips were shaped, the pinkness of them, how smooth his skin looked, the shape of his face, how his hair rested on the pillow, it was almost overwhelming. But he couldn’t look away.

He found himself only centimeters away from Draco’s face, which was strange since earlier they weren’t so close. He leaned in without even realizing it.

He pulled back and sighed silently at his own stupidity.

He reached over and gently nudged Draco. “Draco, hey, wake up. It’s time to go see Teddy, yea?” He called softly.

Draco stirred and slowly woke up. He opened his eyes and he furrowed his eyebrows. “What time is it?”

“A little after eight. Wanna go see Teddy now?”

“Yea, let’s go.”

With that, they got dressed and ready for the day. Unfortunately that meant Harry had to sit through Draco’s little morning routine of getting his hair just right and moisturizing.

“Merlin, you really are gay.” Harry chuckled.

Suddenly, a book came and hit him in the back of the head.

“Ow! What was that for?”

“I don’t quite know. I didn’t take any offense to what you said, I just really wanted to hit you. Might be something to do with your face.” He taunted, but of course he wasn't serious.

“I’m gonna kick your arse.”

“I’d love to see you try.”

“‘I’ll get Hermione on it. I know she had no problem punching you in the face. I think that’s the moment Ron realized he loved her.”

Draco rolled his eyes, “I was thrown off because only moments before, she had her wand to my neck.”

“Ah, I remember now. You were whimpering and whining like a scared kitten.”

“I was not!”

“You were, it was utterly pathetic.” Harry was grinning from the memory, it had been quite hilarious.

“I didn’t whimper!”

“I thought you were gonna piss yourself. Then you tried to play it off with a laugh and ‘Mione punched you so hard you flew back into the stone.”

“I was thrown off.”

“Funny, cause you’re a right tosser.”

Draco smirked, “But you wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?”

Harry just glared at him a moment. “Teddy’s my godson, I'm going to teach him to kick your arse.”

“Wow. A baby, you’re threatening me with a baby. Is that really what you’ve come to?”

“Desperate times call for desperate measures.”

Only moments later, they were at Andromeda‘s door. Harry knocked and she opened it, expecting they would be there. “Teddy’s in the sitting room.”

She wasn’t exactly a joyful woman, but she was doing her best and Harry respected that.

They entered and found Teddy was laying on his belly, chewing his toy wand. It seemed to be his favorite.

Harry approached him and smiled as he knelt down beside him. “Hey Teddy, how have you been?”

Teddy babbled a little bit.

“That’s wonderful! Are you enjoying your toy?”

Teddy blew raspberries at Harry.

“Is that one your favorite?”

“Ba la la la.”

Harry nodded, “Ah, I thought so.”

“Are you seriously conversing with a baby?” Draco asked.

“Yes. When I was a child, I was mostly ignored. I wasn’t exposed to a lot of conversation so I was late developing. Because of that, I couldn’t talk until I was four. Meanwhile, there are four year olds who can do math and are bilingual. All babies have such a potential for genius, it’s the job of the adults to teach them how to use it.”

Draco nodded, sitting on the floor with him. “Alright then. Hello Teddy, I’m Draco. I’m your cousin.”

Teddy then looked at Draco. He laughed and handed Draco a toy. It was a stuffed bunny. It looked old, likely used to be Nymphadora’s.

Draco took the bunny and gave Teddy a smile. “Thank you Teddy. I appreciate that you want to share.” Draco then proceeded to make the bunny hop all around, and then on Teddy’s head.

Teddy laughed and swiped at the bunny.

Then Draco made the bunny hop to Harry and slowly climb his body, soon bouncing the toy on Harry’s head.

Harry looked mildly annoyed and Teddy thought it was hilarious.

“I’m gonna teach him to say hexes.” Draco suggested.

“I swear I’m gonna kill you.”

Draco laughed and Teddy giggled right along with him. “Look at him, he loves me! I’m hilarious!”

“Of course he loves you, he’s a baby, babies love everyone.”

Draco handed the bunny back to Teddy, who got to work chewing the bunny’s ear. He then started to reach for Harry, who picked him up and set him on his lap, letting him lean against his chest since he can’t sit up on his own yet.

Teddy then looked up at Harry and Draco, as if expecting something.

Harry took the hint and started talking. “Well Teddy, I don’t know about you but I’ve had an absolutely atrocious morning. I was fast asleep in my bed, and suddenly, a blonde flopped down on me and demanded I wake up so we could come see you. I reasoned with the oaf and we fell asleep again. I woke up, awoke the oaf, and then the oaf had go to through a ridiculous hair and skin treatment. Then he insults me and we come here. I know what you’re thinking, Draco’s a complete tosser. Don’t worry, I already told him for you because I knew you would want me to.”

“Don’t say that in front of Teddy! He’s a baby! He doesn’t need one of his first words to be tosser.”

“You just said it.”

“Only because you did.” Draco said, a bit exasperated. “Don’t listen to him Teddy, let me tell you what really happened. I gently climbed on top of him and tried to wake him up, then he pulls me down and gets me to fall asleep. He woke me up and then made a comment about my sexuality, so I bashed him with a book, then he insulted me, so I insulted him back, and then we came here. My hair and skin routine isn’t ridiculous! It’s good hygiene, something Harry would know nothing about. He’s what we call, a filthy peasant.”

“I have more money than you.” Harry mumbled, rolling his eyes.

“It isn’t about money, it’s about class, status. Nothing you would know about.” Draco teased, but not in a mean way. Draco had a very sarcastic sense of humor.

Harry rolled his eyes, “You’re just mad cause Teddy loves me more than he loves you.” He looked down at Teddy. “Isn’t that right?”

Teddy took the bunny out of his mouth and vocalized at Harry.

Harry grinned, “Ha! Told you!” He looked up at Draco, “I’m his favorite.”

“That’s only cause he knows you a little better than he does me. Once he realizes how cool I am, he’ll ditch you.”

Teddy then reached for Draco, so Harry handed him over.

Draco smirked, “See, told you. He’s already realizing I’m better than you.”

He held Teddy and talked to him for a bit. Harry couldn’t help but to smile at how cute it was. As annoying as he is, Draco had his moments.

Again, Harry found himself staring. He was distracted by Draco’s jaw. It was soft but still defined, just enough to catch Harry’s eye. His eyes trailed up slightly to Draco's cheek, his eyes outlined the shape of it, taking in each and every detail. Every curve, the little pink blotches, the couple freckles, and how his cheekbone stood out from his face. For some strange reason he wanted to kiss it.

He quickly blinked as a mild panic rushed through him. He was a bit freaked out by how easily his mind went to more romantic thoughts of Draco. He decided to shake off his thoughts and focus on Teddy instead.

The afternoon went by innocently enough. Draco even got to feed Teddy a bottle of milk.

When they went back to Hogwarts, Harry was still a bit confused by his own staring. He wasn’t sure why he had been looking at Draco like that, or why he wanted to kiss his cheek. He just wanted to for some reason. He decided it was probably just his mind being strange and he tried to forget about it. He then turned his attention to a few homework assignments that he needed to get out of the way.

While he worked, he was soon approached by Hermione. “Hey, I need your help.”

Harry looked up, “With what?”

“There’s a bit of research I need to do about our newfound money-making method. Problem is, the book I need is in the restricted section.” She didn't even state her proper request as she knew Harry would already know what to do.

Harry grew a mischievous grin. “I’ll meet you in the common room with my cloak at midnight.”

Hermione smirked, “I knew I could count on you.”

\- - - - -

When it was time for them to meet up, Hermione was left standing alone in the dark common room. Harry arrived five minutes late, “Sorry, I lost track of time talking to Draco.”

Hermione crossed her arms, a bit annoyed. “Do you two have late night chats often?”

“About every night.”

She shook her head and got under the cloak with him, sneaking out into the hall.

As they walked to the library they spoke in hushed voices. “So, you and Draco are getting pretty close.”

“I suppose we are.” Harry said with a shrug, not thinking much of it.

Hermione rolled her eyes. “Come on, you’re having gay thoughts aren’t you?”

His mind went back to the thoughts he had earlier that day. He remembered Draco's soft face and his own cheeks flushed from his thoughts. “Maybe.”

“Harry.” She encouraged, knowing that wasn't all.

He acquiesced with an exasperated huff. “Just a little bit.”

“I knew it.”

“Doesn’t matter, Draco doesn’t like me like that. We’re just friends.”

“That’s what Dean and Seamus said about each other. Look at how right they were.”

Harry scoffed at the thought of him and Draco becoming like his friends. “Draco and I are not Dean and Seamus.”

“Exactly, and you never will be. We won’t let you two get to that point.”

Harry rolled his eyes and they made it to the library, carefully breaking in to the restricted section.

They took off the cloak and began to look around. Hermione was looking for some book on the history of the bank and another on the history of finances and wizarding currency.

Harry just browsed around at whatever books there were. He noticed a few biographies, some history books, lots of stuff on dark arts, ancient spells and runes, but nothing too interesting. Of course he was curious about what the restricted section had to offer, but after that one book screamed in his face all those years ago, he’s been wary about looking around again.

Until he actually found one that interested him. It was an older book that seemed to be about the history of magic.

He grew curious and opened it. He flipped through and saw it was in old English, but it wasn’t too hard to figure out. He mostly skimmed until he got to some part about death. Something about waking up in a familiar place of transport and that being limbo. Then another passage about being transported to another location, going where you deserve to do, likely full of familiar faces.

Harry furrowed his eyebrows, wondering if it had anything to do with the fact that he saw himself in a version of King’s Cross Station. Was he to get on a train when he really died? He wondered where it might take him and who might be there waiting for him.

He then wondered how the book could have known about that. He looked through some more and saw that at the end of the chapter, there was a little blurb about how the author died of dragon pox, but through dark magic, was resurrected.

“Well then.” He mumbled to himself, “That explains that.”

When he met up with Hermione, she had gotten all the information she needed and they snuck back out.

Harry crept back into his dorm around two in the morning. He couldn’t wait to flop down on his bed and sleep the day away. But a voice interrupted him.

“So that’s what happened to the Invisibility Cloak. I didn’t realize you were a descendant of those famous brothers who cheated Death. Makes sense considering your track record.” Draco responded, revealing he wasn’t asleep, but up and waiting for Harry.

Harry froze a moment, unsure of what to do. “Uh, don’t worry about it, just go back to sleep.”

“Where were you?”

“Doesn’t matter.”

“Who were you with?”

“Irrelevant.”

“Why were you out so late?”

“Unimportant.”

Draco gave him a solid resting bitch face. He wasn't going to put up with Harry's deflections.

Harry smiled nervously. The smile lasted about two seconds before he gave in. “I was with Hermione in the library. She wanted to do some research.”

“On what?”

“The economy.”

Draco sighed, “Boring. I thought you were off having an affair.”

“Who would I be having an affair with?”

“I don’t know. Plenty of people are interested in you Harry. The streets were filled with cheers when you became legal, there was nearly a parade.”

Harry rolled his eyes, “I can assure you Draco, no one wants to do that with me.”

“You don’t know that. I happen to know a few people who would kill for a night with you.”

“Do they know I’m just a virgin?”

“Thankfully no. If word got out, people just might throw themselves at you. You could get attacked.”

Harry chuckled, “I doubt anyone cares that much. Come on, let’s sleep.”

“Nope, tomorrow is Sunday, no classes anyways." Draco gave a sly grin, "Let’s talk more about the library. I know you two didn’t spend all that time looking for books on finances. If you were, you would of done it in the day.”

“Alright, the book was in the restricted section.”

“Why?” Seemed strange for a book on finances to be considered restricted.

“No idea. Must have some dark secrets.”

Draco tilted his head, “Find anything interesting anyways?” He had been hoping for something amusing when Harry returned. Originally he stayed up with the hope of Harry revealing some secret relationship to him. But now that he realized how boring Harry was when no one was trying to kill him, he was hoping Harry found something more gripping to tell Draco in one of the books.

Harry fleetingly recalled the passage on life after death, but decided it might be too much for Draco. “No, just looked at some random books. Nothing very interesting.”

“What about something minutely interesting?” He pressed, seeing the hesitation in Harry.

Harry shrugged, “Someone wrote a bit about the afterlife, or whatever.” He paused a moment, “It was exactly what happened to me when I died.”

Draco looked at him a moment, silent, “You really died?”

“Just for a little bit. It was more of a limbo. I wasn’t anything for a while. I got myself together, and then I came back.”

Draco blinked a few times and nodded, still a bit shocked. “Sorry, I just didn’t realize you actually died.” He was told that Harry was only unconscious, or perhaps was only pretending to be. He had no idea that Harry was actually dead for a brief period of time.

“Yea, well. I woke up in a version of King’s Cross Station. According to the book, you wake up in a familiar place of transportation, you get on, and you’re taken to where you deserve to go. When you get there, there will likely be familiar faces. The author died of dragon pox but dark magic brought him back to life, so he wrote about it. I can see why the book’s in the restricted section. It might freak out someone who hasn’t been through it.”

Draco nodded, a little startled by the information. “Yea, a bit. I hope we end up together so I can piss you off for eternity.”

“I hope I can still hex you in the afterlife, cause I’m going to try.” He flopped down on his own bed. “Can we go to sleep now?”

“Fine.”

With that, they each got comfy and eventually fell asleep. But just before he fell asleep, Harry found himself thinking of Draco’s jawline one last time, much to his dismay.


	11. The Marauder’s Map

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry researches the dark arts. He also takes another look at the Marauder’s Map, something’s strange and familiar about the Messrs who always greet him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heights in this chapter are based off of the actors who portray Harry and Draco.

Yesternight's trip to the library reminded Harry that many students who pursued an advanced study in Defense Against the Dark Arts had access to the restricted section. But it slipped his mind that he could also qualify since he was planning to teach it.

He found himself outside of McGonagall's office once again hesitating to enter. He wasn't sure why but McGonagall had always intimated him, while still showing him a motherly love. Perhaps it was how brutal she was. She feared no one, she was always honest, and she stuck to her word. When she said she would do something, then it happened. When she claimed something to be fact, she backed it up. She was as immovable as a mountain and stubborn as a mule. She was unafraid to admit her faults and didn't speak much on topics she didn't have a prior knowledge of, this gave her a tendency to be right when she did speak.

He considered what McGonagall said to be law, even though he had a habit of bending and breaking laws.

McGonagall was also one of the few people Harry ever sought out approval from.

After talking to McGonagall for a bit she agreed to let him have access to the restricted section. “I’m trusting you with sensitive information Mr. Potter.”

“I know Headmistress. I just want to be able to do my job well.”

McGonagall trusted him and Harry would never intentionally break that.

He had some time the next weekend to start reading around the restricted section. He started at the beginning, A. A vast majority of the A section covered ancient stuff. He made sure to take notes on anything interesting or potentially relevant.

Some books were strange, screaming at him, trying to bite him. He wasn’t quite sure what to do about those and tended to leave them alone.

After only one weekend he made it halfway through the F’s.

He began to check out three books each week and he would binge through the weekends.

He learned about all kinds of magic and darkness, things that were extremely complex and evil. Things he didn’t even know existed.

Of course he still made time for his friends, but their afternoons in the common room were soon invaded with Harry’s book. No matter what, he always had a book in his hands. At meals, he read while eating. At night, he would fall asleep reading. He would even try to sneak his books into class to read.

Draco noticed the change in Harry very quickly. Having their late night conversations invaded by books was something he wasn't quite fond of, “Seems you’ve become quite the Ravenclaw, Harry. Always got your nose in a book.”

“Better I put it there than in other people’s business, unlike you.” Harry obviously didn’t mean what he said with any rude intentions, it was how they joked around.

Draco only nodded, hardly acknowledging what Harry said, “So, you’re really going to be teaching here?”

“I hope so.” Harry didn’t even look up from his book.

“Good. I expect my future heir to get preferential treatment, after all, he or she will be too rich and pretty to do work.” He spoke with his old arrogance and superiority that today would made Harry laugh.

“I think I should just end the Malfoy line now, while there’s no witnesses.” His tone was entirely deadpanned, but it was hard to tell if he was joking or if he genuinely wasn't invested in the conversation.

Draco tilted his head and laughed, deciding to take it as a joke. “I could do the same to you, Potter. We’re the last of our lines.”

“You’re the last of your line, I still have a chance.”

“There’s always surrogates.”

Harry raised an eyebrow finally looking up, “Wizards use surrogate mothers? I didn’t think you had the technology.”

“We use magic for all the medical tosh, obviously. We aren’t as primeval as you think.”

“You don’t use bloody pencils.” Although quills and ink were pretty cool for about five minutes, it was a bit inconvenient to constantly dip the quill back in ink. Sometimes you didn't get enough ink, sometimes you got too much, it was hell to keep buying, and it made writing long papers a nightmare compared to going on ceaselessly with a pencil.

“Quills work. If it isn’t broken, why fix it?”

Harry cracked a smile, shaking his head and going back to his book. He just hit the H’s and he was reading up on Harpies. They were much more terrifying than he expected.

He took some more notes on the creature and then put the book down. He began looking through all that he had written, realizing that he only had three pages filled and he’s already making a dent in the restricted section. Then again, much of the restricted section was more about evil people and manifestos. The amount of books on dark arts, magic, and creatures weren't very plenty.

He read back through the notes until he hit the letter C. One book he read was on the conscious mind and how magic can effect it. There was even some stuff on how to link the conscious mind to an object as a form of minor possession. That part wasn’t exactly dark magic, but on the other hand, the rest of the book was about torturing a person’s mind with magic.

His thoughts slowly drifted to think of the Marauder’s Map. He wondered if the mind linking magic was used on it, seeing as it felt like he really was talking to four people whenever he messed around with it.

“Harry, I’m off to my shift in the hospital wing, I’ll see you after lunch.” Draco said as he packed his books and began to leave.

“See you then.”

When Draco left, he immediately went to his trunk and pulled out the map, his curiosity was brimming over and he had to get some answers.

He was about to say something, until he realized it was different. Moony, Padfoot, and Prongs were the only names that appeared.

“What happened to Messr Wormtail?” He asked.

_‘Messr Prongs would like to inform you that Messr Wormtail is no longer part of the map.’  
‘Messr Prongs would also like to know who he is speaking to.’_

Harry has never before initiated a personal conversation with the map. He wasn’t completely sure that he should give it his personal information. If he was right and he was talking to three real people, then he wasn’t sure if they could be trusted. Nevertheless, he didn’t want to lie. That could come back and bite him in the arse later, “I’m Harry.”

_‘Messrs Padfoot and Moony would also like to say hello.’_

Harry decided he might as well get to the point since it was already a bit weird for him, “I hope this doesn’t sound strange, but I’m studying advanced DADA so I’ve been given access to the restricted section of the library. In it, I’ve found magic about linking one’s consciousness to an inanimate object. It made me wonder how you did this. Am I talking to real people, or some sort of magic guardians of the map?”

_‘Messr Padfoot would like to inform Harry that he is talking to real people.’  
‘Messr Moony would like to know how Harry managed to find such a book.’_

“It was hidden behind some others, sort of trapped so it couldn’t move back to it’s proper spot.”

_‘Messr Moony would like to know if Harry has any idea as to why it was hidden.’_

Harry thought a moment, quickly coming up with a theory, “Because you lot linked your minds to a piece of paper and didn’t want it traced back to you.”

_‘Messr Prongs would like for Harry to know that he is correct.’_

“So, for clarification, I’m talking in real-time to real people? Are you lot still hanging around?” Not that he wanted to meet them in person, it just felt like the next thing to ask. Though the conversation wasn’t exactly natural, Harry was trying his best.

_‘Messr Prongs would like to inform Harry that he, as well as Messrs Padfoot and Moony, are dead.’_

Harry perked up at the knowledge, excited that he was right, but now he was curious about who exactly he was talking to. “Are you talking to me from the other side?” He wasn't exactly sure what to call it and 'the other side' seemed appropriate for how strange it was.

_‘Messr Moony would like to confirm Harry’s theory.’_

“I died too once, but then I came back.” Harry found a way to relate to the three and he went for it. Still, he wasn’t entirely comfortable with the conversation at hand. He wasn’t even sure why he was being so revealing to complete strangers.

_‘Messr Padfoot would like to ask Harry how he died.’_

Harry didn’t say anything at first, contemplating about how to proceed with such a confession. He might as well be honest since he’s been this open. No point in going back on it now. But he knew he should probably stop being so telling to strangers.

_‘Messr Padfoot didn’t mean to pry and would like to apologize.’_

That message made Harry realize he had taken quite a few minutes to decide on what to say.

“No, it’s fine. It was the killing curse. Voldemort killed me, but I didn’t stay dead. I came back and killed him.” Never before has Harry needed to explain aloud what had happened, but now that he’s done it, he’s come to realize that what happened to him at the tender age of seventeen was absolutely mental.

 _‘Messr Prongs is curious to know the surname of Harry.’_  
_‘Messr Moony thinks Messr Prongs should mind his business.’_  
_‘Messr Padfoot is eager to see how this plays out.’_

Harry let out a chuckle, at least they seemed friendly, “It’s Potter. Harry Potter.”

_‘Messr Prongs is wondering if Harry’s father happens to be James Potter.’_

He tilted his head, thinking it a bit strange that his father was known, “Yes, I’m the son of James and Lily Potter. Have you met them?”

_‘Messrs Prongs, Padfoot, and Moony are very familiar with James and Lily Potter.’_

Harry was hit with a wave of shock. Someone knew them. It was a numbness that momentarily took him over. Meeting someone who knew his parents had never turned out well. In his experience, they either want to kill him, or they end up dead.

He was so caught up in his shock that he didn’t notice that he had again gone a few minutes without responding.

_‘Messr Prongs would like to know if Harry is alright?’_

“Oh, yes. Sorry. It’s just that it’s been a while since I’ve been around people who knew my parents. Everyone who ever knew them seems to drop like flies.” He let out a nervous chuckle, wanting to punch himself in the face for being so damn awkward. But then again, he was talking to three dead men via a piece of paper, he was far past normal conversation.

_‘Messr Prongs would like to assure Harry that he isn’t going anywhere.’_  
_‘Messr Padfoot would like to comfort Harry, but it’s difficult to do so when you are only words on a page.’_  
_‘Messr Moony would like Harry to know that the map isn’t waterproof, please be careful.’_

Harry furrowed his eyebrows, wanting a bit of further clarification, “You three are all dead, in the afterlife. Are you remnants of a consciousness left behind, or are the three of you sitting around in the afterlife, having this conversation in your heads?” He wanted just a bit of clarification to make sure he understood what was happening.

_‘Messr Prongs is currently with his wife in the afterlife, having this conversation in his head.’_  
_‘Messr Moony is doing the same as Messr Prongs.’_  
_‘Messr Padfoot is dicking around with his friends in the afterlife, while simultaneously having this conversation in his head.’_  
_‘Messr Prongs would like to remind Messr Padfoot not to curse in front of children.’_

“I’m not a child, I’m eighteen.”

_‘Messrs Prongs would like to wish Harry luck in his seventh year at Hogwarts.’_

“Oh, thank you. I don’t know if this is an uncomfortable topic, but, when did you lot die?”

_’Messr Prongs died almost two decades ago.’_  
_‘Messr Padfoot died a year or two ago.’_  
_‘Messr Moony died in May.’_

Harry’s heart sunk.

“You died in the war, didn’t you Moony? I’m so sorry.” His chest felt heavy and empty, “I tried, I tried but I couldn’t save everyone. I-I couldn’t, I should’ve but I didn’t know how.” He felt like Moony had died because of him. He's dealt with these feelings before, the guilt, the denial, the confusion, the justifications, but in the end he's had to tell himself that not everyone who died was gone because of him. He didn't force anyone to be involved with the war and he didn't force Death Eaters to kill people. Though it was difficult, he was slowly accepting that he couldn't blame himself for everything.

The three Messrs comforted Harry, assuring him that he did what he had to do.

Harry didn’t know who the three were. He had no idea that the three of them were on the verge of tears with Nymphadora and Lily, describing to the two what Harry was telling them.

He had no idea.

The three questioned Harry on his life, he felt a strange connection with them, and he told them everything. The terrible near-enslavement and neglect he went through as a child, the abuse, the bullying, the people he gained and lost, his lows, his highs, his brief and shitty love life, and how he was genuinely ready to die in the end. Then he described his summer, not too much to talk about besides his attempts at healing and the trial with Draco, “and now he’s my roommate.” He went on to explain the changes that McGonagall made to Hogwarts, since they were confused by a Gryffindor being roomed with a Slytherin.

There were plenty of questions by the end of it.

_‘Messr Prongs would like to assure Harry that the Dursley’s have always been cunts and that he didn’t deserve any of it.’_  
_‘Messr Padfoot would like to know when Harry realized he’s bisexual.’_  
_‘Messr Moony is wondering how Harry felt about his companion being a werewolf.’_

Harry thought a moment, “I realized I was bisexual, I don’t know, when I was a kid I guess. Girls are cute, guys are cute, it’s just whatever. As for Remus, I didn’t care. He’s only a werewolf, not like it’s that big a deal. Still just Remus.”

_‘Messr Padfoot also thinks boys and girls are cute.’_

Harry smiled, “Exactly! Hogwarts is full of fine pieces of arse of many varieties. Why be picky? My best friend Ron, he has a whole handful of brothers. I keep telling him that if he makes me mad I’ll sleep with all of them.”

_‘Messr Padfoot strongly encourages Harry in his pursuit of arse.’  
‘Messr Prongs would like to remind Harry that sometimes it’s good to wait for the right person.’_

“Oh it’s alright, I’m still a virgin. Nobody ever stays with me long enough for it to get that far.”

_‘Messr Padfoot would like to make fun of Harry for being a virgin.’_  
_‘Messr Prongs would like to kick Messr Padfoot in the balls.’_  
_‘Messr Moony would like for his companions to please stop.’_

Harry let out a laugh, “Merlin, life would have been a lot easier if I'd had you around to stick up for me, Prongs.”

He had no idea that in that moment, James' heart shattered. Those words had absolutely wrecked him. Remus and Sirius took a moment to comfort him, continuing the conversation with Harry so he wouldn't suspect anything.

_’Messr Prongs is curious to know if Harry is currently seeing anyone?’  
‘Messr Moony is also curious.’_

“I’m not. Most people who want to be with me, want it for their own reasons. They want to be with me for my fame, money, status, etcetera. Others don’t want to be with me for those same reasons. I want someone who doesn’t care about any of it. That doesn’t leave many options.”

They talked a bit more about relationships and such, but Prongs didn't seem to have much to say. He wanted to say more, he was finally getting to have a conversation with his son. It was more than he could have ever hoped since he died. He wanted to give Harry advice on relationships, he wanted to talk with him about charming potential paramours, about his own dating experiences, he wanted to tell Harry everything. Even if it was eighteen years late, he was getting a second chance. At first he was saddened by all the things he missed out on. But now, he was determined to step up and play a role in Harry's life. He became ecstatic.

A while later, Harry realized he missed lunch. “I think I ought to go now. I just missed lunch and I still have some work to do, I’ll try to talk to you lot agai-“

He was cut off by the door bursting open.

“Harry Potter! How dare you miss lunch and make me worry about you! Keeping yourself in here and working instead of eating.” Draco scoffed as he barged into the room. He was obviously displeased by how Harry had missed lunch.

“I wish Voldemort had killed me.”

“Your lucky I snuck out some food.” Draco began to unpack his bag on Harry’s bed. He’d smuggled out a covered bowl of soup, some bread and cheese, and a lot of grapes.

“That’s quite a lot.”

“This is an average meal.”

“Maybe for you, but I didn’t get used to one meal a day until I was thirteen.” He pointed it out as if it wasn't perturbing in the slightest. It was just his life. He forgot that most people didn't have the same life experiences as him, so when he saw Draco's concerned face, he almost didn't realize what the concern was for.

Draco blinked a few times, trying to get past the unsettling statement, but he couldn't. “How much food do you usually eat now?”

“I usually eat a few bites of everything at each meal.” It added up when considering that Harry was presented with many entrees and side items in the Great Hall.

“Well no wonder you were such a skinny runt.”

“I wasn’t a runt!” Harry was a bit insecure about his own height. Most men were taller than him and a lot of younger boys were too. He wouldn't call it a Napoleon Complex, but his friends do.

“You were and you still are.”

“I am not!”

Draco looked Harry up and down and gave an estimate, “You’re a hundred sixty centimeters tops.”

“I am one hundred and sixty FIVE centimeters!" He corrected, "How tall are you anyways?”

“Ten more than you.”

“Bastard.” Harry said as he started to drink the bowl of soup. He was very aware that Draco was taller than him, but he didn't realize he was so much taller.

“Haven’t you ever heard of silverware?” Draco asked with his old superiority and a raised eyebrow.

“You didn’t bring me a spoon. I don’t want to go get a spoon. I’m going to drink the soup.” He then dipped the bread in the soup and ate it.

Draco snatched some grapes, “Animal.” He commented before popping the grapes in his mouth and going into the bathroom.

He wouldn't admit it, but he thought Harry’s height was adorable.

Harry rolled his eyes and they then landed on the map.

_‘Messrs Moony, Padfoot, and Prongs are laughing their arses off.’  
‘Messr Prongs didn’t realize Harry was so short. He also thinks Harry could take Malfoy in a fight.’_

“I’m putting you lot back in my trunk. But I’ll talk to you again, sometime soon.”

They said their goodbyes and Harry put them away before continuing to eat the food Draco snuck for him.

He sighed to himself, but smiled. He was happy to of found some new friends, he was also a bit proud that Draco had been thinking about him.


	12. The Journey So Far

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The year is almost halfway over with the arrival of December. Along with the cold came hopes for the future and preparations for Christmas.

December came in like a rush of cold air. Just like that and their last year was almost halfway over.

Neville was furthering his studies in Herbology. He’s started helping Professor Sprout take care of her plants, and he’s started working with Draco to understand the plants. Being a Healer, Draco had a mutual interest with Neville in plants that can be used in potions or on their own to heal people. He’s learned to care for the different plants in the Herbology department and often comes in on weekends and cares for the plants on his own.

Luna has been extensively reading the works of Newt Scamander, the most renowned Magizoologist of the time. Mostly due to how close he was to the creatures he studied. He didn’t just observe and take notes, he cared for them and became someone that they trusted. She even managed to get into correspondence with his grandson, Rolf. They were eager to work together once Luna graduates.

Hermione was talking to the current Minister for Magic, Kingsley Shacklebolt. Of course they had already met being in the Order together. But now Hermione was talking to him about political advice as her ambition was to take over once he stepped down in about a decade or so. He only wanted the position in order to secure the arrests of dark witches and wizards, and to help rebuild what he could. Hermione wanted the position to push for change. Shacklebolt thought she would be an excellent successor, he also advised her to look into previous Ministers and try to learn from their downfalls.

Ron was working to try and perfect wandless magic. Being an Auror was a dangerous job and he knew that things could go wrong and leave him wandless. There were certain spells he wanted to learn for combat purposes. He’s also started to study wizarding law with Hermione since it could prove useful in both their careers. He’s also began to send letters to the Auror Office about what he should start learning now in order to get a head start on his future training.

Pansy was actually interested in magical law and wanted to work for the Ministry in the Improper Uses Of Magic Office. According to her, she’s seen all the ways someone can abuse magic and get away with it, and she’s sick of it. So now she wants to make sure that no one else steps out of line and uses their magic to hurt others. She’s also interested in being part of a group that’s dedicated to putting bad people away. Partly due to watching people commit crimes every day and get off free. She hated it.

Seamus and Dean were finally a couple, that’s the best anyone could hope for. They spent their free time with each other, trying to make up for all the time they wasted with their pining. They were also looking into jobs at the Department of Magical Sports and Games. They were interested in helping to organize tournaments, advertise for them, and create more merchandise for the registered Quidditch teams. They were also looking to expand the scope of magical games, wanting to include more options since only a few existed. Since they were both raised in the Muggle world, they were looking to create magical versions of different Muggle sports.

Draco was regularly studying plants with Neville and brewing potions for the hospital wing. This also caused him to get close to Professor’s Sprout and Slughorn. Madam Pomfrey let him handle minor illnesses all by himself, everything from diagnosis to caring for the patients. He spent his weekends running around the hospital wing, assisting Pomfrey and caring for patients. Word got around that Draco was helping out in there and suddenly everyone was referring to him as “Nurse Malfoy”. He didn’t mind it, he actually seemed to like it. Pomfrey had also started throwing out comments about how she was getting old, though she was only in her mid-sixties, and that she needed someone she could trust to take over when she’s gone. She made these comments to both Draco and McGonagall.

Harry was making one hell of a dent in the restricted section. No book was spared from his hands. He was already on P, besides books focused on Potions or poltergeists, there wasn’t that much in the P section. He was also talking to other Professors about what teaching was like. He took advice he could get because DA was his only experience, and it certainly wasn’t a normal classroom environment. He was also talking with McGonagall about what he would be expected to teach the students each year, “Because Merlin knows I have no idea what I’m suppose to know in DADA, hardly any of the teachers were competent and all of them except Lupin managed to screw me over.” McGonagall wrote out a list of concepts that each year should be taught and Harry began to write out everything he knew on each subject, citing books and personal experience. He’s never been so excited about the future before.

Teddy was also doing great. He could sit up, he knows his name, and he could speak a few words. His favorites included “nanny”, “no”, “bad”, “go”, “arry”, and “dayco”

It was quite adorable.

Every time Harry and Draco visited, Teddy would crawl over to them saying, “Arrry Dayco! Arry Dayco!”

Harry and Hermione also figured out a little system for making money. Twice a month they melt 10,000 Galleons each, exchange it at pawn shops for cheap silver, melt and mint it into Sickles, and trade it for Galleons. They usually triple their profit, sometimes a bit over, but they doubt it’ll ever quadruple.

In his spare time, he’s been reading his mother’s journal. He’s almost finished and he fears the ending. As if part of him would like to pretend that the story never ended, that they’re still alright somewhere. He had the innocent, youthful, and alive versions of his family in the pages of his mother’s journal. It was as if they were still roaming the halls of a younger Hogwarts, having fun, learning, pulling pranks, and falling in love. It was as if they were still safe and protected from the evils that would eventually end them all. The cheerful and bold Sirius who never went to Azkaban, the witty and humorous Remus who had his friends to help him during full moons, the troublemaking and joyful James who wasn’t betrayed and murdered, and the sweet and sharp Lily who didn’t have to die to keep him alive.

In reality, he knew where they were. The afterlife that he’s learned about seemed like it would be a good place for them. If you go where you deserve, then they certainly are somewhere good as they died trying to save the world. They deserved the best.

He’s also been talking to the Marauders more. Usually once a week, they ask about all kinds of stuff. His friends, their ambitions, his ambitions, Teddy, Draco, the arrests and prosecutions of dark witches or wizards, they wanted to know about everything. Prongs had also become very open with Harry, offering advice and telling about his own experiences. Harry was glad that he wasn’t the only one revealing information about himself. It was a bit awkward to tell your life story to a bunch of strangers, but it was a bit less so when one of those strangers was being just as open as you.

Harry didn’t really ask them much since there wasn’t really a way for their lives to evolve. From what he’s gathered, there are people there that they don’t know and they’ve made new friends. Apparently a few new people will show up every once in a while, but time doesn’t really exist there so they aren’t sure how often it is.

One thing Harry was curious about was their true identities. He was a bit nervous to ask, unsure of how they would respond. He also knew there wasn’t a good chance that they would tell him who they really were.

Hagrid’s birthday came around a bit later. Since he started teaching care for magical creatures, a lot more students have been getting to know him. Because of that, Harry managed to get a little over a hundred students to show up to a surprise birthday party that McGonagall let him hold in the Great Hall. Hagrid was so happy he nearly cried. Songs were sung, they danced, listened to Hagrid’s stories, and Harry baked Hagrid a birthday cake. “Thank you Hagrid, thank you for everything.”

Personally, Harry always thought of Hagrid as the man who pulled him out of that house. The one who saved him. Hagrid was always there for him.

All in all, their lives were phenomenal.

But nothing lasts forever.

\- - - - -

One day, Draco bursted into his and Harry’s dorm. His face was red and blotchy, tears were rolling down his cheeks, and he looked a mix of angry and sad.

He felt outraged. He slammed the door shut, making Harry jump and a look of fear flashed on his face.

Seeing that made Draco freeze in his tantrum. He didn’t mean to scare Harry like that. Now that he knew about Harry’s past, he felt a bit guilty for slamming the door. “Sorry.” He mumbled, sitting on his bed with balled up fists.

“Are you okay?” Harry spoke in a small voice. Slamming doors, anger, and balled fists. He didn’t want to be scared, but he was. Of course he was confident he could take Draco in a fight, it wasn’t about that. He hated how he felt, but he knew he couldn’t do much to stop it.

Draco didn’t say anything for a moment, and then let out a soft and broken, “No.”

“Do you want to talk about it or do you want a distraction?”

“I want to talk.”

“What’s wrong?”

Draco sniffled, his anger melting away and the sadness becoming more apparent. “I uhm. Fuck.” Was all he got out for a moment. “I was speaking with my parents via letters, we’ve been sending them nonstop for the last two weeks. I can’t return to the Manor, as you know. I was hoping we could spend Christmas at another relative’s house, but plenty of them are being prosecuted for being Death Eaters. My father also hasn’t been too happy over the fact that I actively rebelled against Voldemort, even though that’s the very thing that kept me out of Azkaban! Essentially, they refuse to meet with me for Christmas. They refuse to spend Christmas with me!” Draco took a deep breath, “I know this isn’t that big a deal, it just really upsets me.”

“No, Draco, this is a big deal. You have a right to be upset. That’s absolutely ridiculous.”

“Looks like I’m spending Christmas at Hogwarts.” Draco sighed, “I don’t really know anyone who’s staying. With year seven being optional, and half of the school not showing up in the first place, it’s going to be barren.”

Harry thought a moment, but he soon became a bit determined, “Ballocks, I’ll stay with you over break and we’ll spend Christmas with Teddy.”

“Harry, you really don’t have to.” He didn’t want Harry missing his Christmas break with the Weasley’s for him. He knew they were Harry’s family.

“Too late, I’ve already decided. Tomorrow I’m going to tell McGonagall to add me to the list of students that are staying over break.”

Draco shook his head, “You don’t have to. Go spend it with the Weasley’s like you usually do.”

“Nope, besides, this is Teddy’s first Christmas.” His face then dropped, “Oh god it’s Teddy’s first Christmas. What the hell do you get for a baby?”

“Usually clothes or toys.”

“Where do you buy baby stuff from? I can always just visit any old town in Scotland, but is there a wizard shop for baby stuff? Where does food come from? Are there wizard farmers? I don’t know how anything works.”

Draco never realized how little Harry knew about the wizarding world. It was strangely adorable how clueless Harry was. “Don’t worry, I’ll help. We’ll make this the best first Christmas a baby can have.”

And so it was settled.

The next day, Harry went to McGonagall’s office and got his name added to the list of students that were staying behind. He also told Hermione and Ron that he was staying.

They understood completely and Hermione even went out and bought a few little hats for Teddy as a Christmas present.

Harry kept it on top of his trunk. He was so happy.

Harry also notified Andromeda that he and Draco will be there for Christmas.

He wanted to give Teddy all the Christmases and birthdays that he never got to have. He wanted Teddy to grow up feeling loved and safe. He wanted Teddy to grow up and be nothing like him. He needed to give Teddy a better life than what he had. No small and dark cupboard, no fear, no hunger, no loneliness, no breakdowns, no depression. He wanted to fill Teddy’s life with love and warmth.

Harry was very familiar with the fact that the abused will sometimes grow up and be abusers, it’s a cycle. But Harry plans to break it.

He bought presents for the Weasley clan and Hermione. He gave them to Hermione so she could bring them with her and Ron to the Weasley house for Christmas. He got Hermione some new journals and notebooks for all her planning to become the next Minister, and he got Ron a training dummy to practice wandless magic on.

For Dean and Seamus, he bought them a big book that was filled with just about every Muggle sport on earth. He figured they would love that given what they were trying to do.

He got Neville a pocket watch with six different points on it. It was meant to be held in front of a plant, and it tells you what the plant needs. The arrow would point to either more water, less water, nutrition, heat, cold, or perfection. Perfection meaning the plant was fine.

He got Luna a book on magical creatures that may or may not exist, none of their existences have been proven. He hoped that would give her inspiration for her future work.

For Pansy, he got her a necklace with a charmed gem that would turn red if someone was telling the truth, purple if someone was lying, and yellow if someone was holding back information. He figured it would be useful in her future investigations of people misusing magic.

He got Draco a book on how to play Quidditch for dummies. That present was meant to be a joke. He also got Draco some Muggle and magical books on medicines and healing. The Muggle book was focused more on herbal remedies since he doubted Draco would ever be using acetaminophen or paracetamol. He also got Draco a silver bracelet with silver charms of different flowers. He thought Draco might like it, and that way, with Draco’s flowery bracelet and Harry’s lily necklace, they might match.

He had all the presents wrapped up and sitting on his trunk. The one person he still needed to get a present for was Teddy. He was going to give Hagrid five thousand Galleons to buy food for all his creatures. Hagrid very rarely accepted presents for himself and would argue that he didn’t need anything. Harry knew giving him money for his animals was the only thing Hagrid would accept.

The day before everyone left for break, he distributed out all the presents amongst his friends. Pansy was a bit surprised that Harry for her something, but she took it with a smile and promised not to open it till Christmas.

That night, the fall term was officially over, and that morning, a majority of the students left Hogwarts. In the Great Hall, only about thirty students were there for breakfast. Harry was pretty happy at the peace and quiet.

He was also strangely happy to have time alone with Draco.


	13. Relax

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry spends his break doing even more work than normal. Thankfully, Draco is determined to put a stop to it and get Harry to relax.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING : This is where the adult content begins, just so you know. Be prepared for it to appear at any time from now on.

With no class, Harry and Draco stayed up even later than normal talking away. Harry helped Draco study important plants and potions, and Draco helped Harry work on his lesson plans.

As promised, Draco helped Harry shop for Teddy first day of break. There was an adorable little store that was full of supplies for children and infants.

It was a bit strange to see The Boy Who Lived and an ex-Death Eater shopping for infant clothes and looking at rattles.

A few paparazzi saw them. Harry straight up offered to give them five minutes to talk to them if they promised to leave him alone after that. They agreed.

Why was he out shopping? For his godson, it’s his first Christmas.  
Who is his godson? The son of Nymphadora and Remus Lupin.  
Are Harry and Draco friends now? Friends and roommates.  
Has he ever taken care of a child before? No, but he’s doing his best.  
What are Harry’s plans for the future? To become the next Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts.  
And Draco’s? To become a Healer.  
Does Harry have his eyes on anyone special? No, he wants to focus on his career for the time being.  
And what about Draco? No, he’s doing the same as Harry.

Then they ran out of time.

Harry and Draco went back to shopping while the paparazzi took pictures from outside of the store.

“I’ll never get used to this shit.” Harry mumbled.

“I thought you enjoyed fame.” Draco questioned. Though it wasn’t the best source of information, he, his friends, and Snape had constantly teased Harry about being famous and living a glamorous life. Now that he knew better he felt like an idiot for insinuating those things. But he still believed Harry enjoyed fame, until now.

“I don’t think anyone enjoys fame. But unlike me, most people intentionally did what got them famous. I’m famous for being a hard infant to kill.”

They said nothing more on the subject.

They ended up buying Teddy a few clothes he could wear now, and a few others that he could wear in his future. They were essentially building Teddy a wardrobe for the next five years of his life. They left with three bags of outfits for Teddy, four new toys, and two lidded cups for toddlers.

When they got back to Hogwarts, Harry started to manually wrap the presents, and Draco laughed, “You know there’s a spell for that.”

“Yea, but that’s boring. Wrapping presents is fun, especially when you’re terrible at it, like me. It shows you care enough to take the time to wrap it by hand.” He pointed out, “And I’m not so pathetic that I need magic for everything.”

Magic is cool and all, but there were some things that Harry preferred to do on his own.

Draco left to go read by the fire and Harry pulled out the Marauder’s Map.

He smiled when he saw the familiar greeting by Prongs, Padfoot, and Moony.

He told them all about the clothes and toys they got for Teddy. “I’m glad I brought Draco along with me. I have no fashion sense because I never had many clothes. Draco on the other hand has been trained in style. If I had done it on my own, Teddy would have mismatched clothes and they’d all be incorrectly sized. We’ve basically started a small wardrobe for him. He won’t need any new clothes until he’s six.”

_‘Messr Moony is concerned about how much Harry spent.’_

“About a thousand Galleons. I have no impulse control and I want to give Teddy the world.”

There was a pause.

Remus had a huge smile of his face as tears were rolling down it. He knew he made the right decision by leaving Harry as Teddy’s godfather. He was making Teddy’s first Christmas as special as he could and he already wanted to give Teddy the world. He let out a laugh as he wiped his eyes, telling Nymphadora about how wonderful their son’s first Christmas was going to be.

“Did I spend too much?” Harry asked as there still hadn’t been a response.

_‘Messr Prongs would like Harry to know that Messr Moony has a son of his own, and as a parent, he is touched that Harry is treating his godson so well.’_

“Do you have to speak like that? All proper and shit. Can it be more casual?”

_’Yes it can, but like this, it isn’t as cool. - Padfoot’_

Harry smiled, “Perhaps it isn’t, but it’s preferable to have you lot talk to me casually.” The whole situation was strange enough, but the formal language was just the final nail in the coffin. With a more casual tone, he felt that their conversations would be a bit easier for him to have.

_‘Alright then. How’s Teddy doing anyways? - Moony’_

Remus was quite eager to hear about how his son was doing.

“Amazing! He knows my name, he calls me Arry and he calls Draco, Dayco. He can sit on his own and can crawl. He can lift himself up to stand. I’m teaching him to walk and Draco’s trying to teach him French. I don’t know why, learning French has no practical purpose. But whatever, what would I know, I am but a mere peasant.”

 _’My family made me learn French and it was absolutely pointless. - Padfoot’_  
_‘I can speak a little Spanish. Estoy cansado. - Prongs’_  
_‘You’re dead Prongs, we don’t need sleep. How can you possibly be tired? - Moony’_  
_‘We can still sleep and I want to. - Prongs’_

Harry chuckled, “Well, I’d better get back to wrapping all Teddy’s presents. I’ll be sure to talk to you lot again on Christmas.” He promised before they said their goodbyes and he put them back in his trunk.

He finished wrapping presents and then went out to join Draco. Draco was laying back across a couch with a book in his hands. Harry decided to lay with Draco, his head on Draco’s stomach and their bodies.

He laid there and finished his book from the restricted section.

\- - - - -

The next few days Harry spent in the restricted section. He pushed his way through the P section, Q was easy as there were very few books in it. R was a bitch but he got through it in three days. Then on to S. He felt so close, but S and T were loaded with books.

It was nearly a week into break when Draco finally realized that Harry was gonna work himself to death when he should be taking time to relax.

Harry was in the restricted section, halfway into S and swapping out one book for another when Draco came storming through. He walked right in to the restricted section and grabbed Harry’s wrist when he set his book down.

“Draco? What are y-“ He was cut off by Draco pulling him out of the restricted section and all the way back to their dorm. Harry fought and argued the whole way there.

“Dammit Draco, I’m halfway through the S’s! Come on just let me finish one more book. If I keep going I could finish the S’s and T’s, they’re absolute monsters to try and tackle. Draco, I just started a series on Sea Creatures, they are not what I expected, deadly little beasts they can be. Dracoooo, let me go! Draco, seriously. If I keep working on it, I can get through the S’s before Christmas, and then I’ll have just enough time to start and finish T! The rest of the letters aren’t even that many books. I could finish this in January, finish my lesson plans by March, and then I can focus completely on my schooling. Draco you slut, let me read!”

Draco ignored his words and shoved him into their dorm, closing and using a silent spell to lock the door.

Harry smirked, “Ha!” He pulled out his wand, “Alohomora.”

But nothing happened.

Harry tried again.

Still nothing.

Harry shifted a bit. It was very strange that his magic wasn’t working, and Draco’s calm demeanor somehow made him even more anxious.

“Draco, what did you do?”

“Oh, I used a special spell to lock the door. It’s special because it can only be undone by the same person who casted it.”

“So we’re trapped.”

“No, you are.”

Harry crossed his arms, “Why?”

“Because you’re working yourself to death on break.”

“I am not.”

“You are. You’ve been staying out till two in the morning reading in the library, sleeping five hours, and then you’re on your way back to the library at seven. You read all day and you hardly eat. You aren’t living like this. I’m not gonna let you work yourself to death on a break. There’s a break for a reason. Take a break.”

“I’m not working myself to death, I’m getting ahead so I can finish my lesson plans as soon as possible.” He knew he was probably working himself too hard. He knew he was close to getting burned out, but if he hurried up and finished reading, then he could be done before the burnout set in. In his mind, it was a perfect plan.

“No, you’re letting your work consume you. You’re so obsessed with getting it done as soon as possible, you have until September, and it’s December. Take a break dammit. You’re gonna relax whether you want to or not.”

Harry raised an eyebrow. He found Draco’s threat to be completely meaningless. “I don’t think you can make me relax.”

“First of all, don’t test me. It’s easy to tell you don’t know much about the wizarding world. There are many books and spells that you know nothing about. Ones you wouldn’t find in Hogwarts.”

Harry was taken aback. Was Draco seriously threatening him? “Oh, and why wouldn’t these spells books be in Hogwarts?”

“Their nature is quite inappropriate for teenagers and children.”

Harry’s eyes widened, “I-Inappropriate?” He felt like the conversation had taken a sharp turn from where he thought it was going.

Draco had never heard Harry stutter before. He thought it was adorable. “Yes, inappropriate. It’s exactly what you think it is Harry. We might act it, but we aren’t prude. We know how to have fun and we found ways to get magic involved. So don’t test me, because I can make you relax.”

Harry’s cheeks went red, never has anyone threatened him like this before. He was a little excited by it, but he would never admit that. “O-Okay, I’ll relax. Just keep your wand in your pocket.”

Draco let out a chuckle, “Strange. I’ve never known you to surrender before.” He honesty didn’t think it would be that easy.

“Well I’ve never been threatened like that before.” He has no clue how to respond.

“Really? Never? Your relationships must have been boring.” Draco teased with a small smirk.

Harry rolled his eyes but relented. He sat on the edge on his bed. “There. I’m relaxed. Can I leave now?”

“You couldn’t have realistically expected that to work.”

“I didn’t, just a bit hopeful I suppose.”

Draco shook his head, “Merlin.” He sighed, “Alright, lay down.”

“What?”

“Lay down.”

“What are you going to do?” He trusted Draco, but he had to know what was going to happen to him before he agreed to anything.

“I’m giving you a massage.”

Harry blushed lightly, “I’m fine Draco.” He had never received a massage before. But based on how they were depicted in movies and TV, he knew they were relaxing and felt good. He had a bit of a sensitivity to being physically vulnerable around others. You could hurt him all you wanted, but he prefers pain to pleasure. With pain, you don’t like it, you hate it, you can be angry and have a wall built up. You can defy and resist. Even if you are vulnerable, you can still be tough and defensive. That wasn’t as readily possible with pleasure. The thing about pleasure is that people weren’t designed to fight what feels good. Harry couldn’t have his wall up. He was inherently more vulnerable.

“Have you never gotten a massage before?”

“No, do people normally get massages?”

Draco couldn’t believe what he was hearing, “On your stomach, you need this more than I thought. It’ll hurt at first but it’s the after effects that are the best.”

Harry looked a bit confused but layed on his stomach. He was only wearing a shirt and jeans so Draco didn’t need him to remove any layers. Although he was hesitant about it, he would give it a chance for Draco.

Draco came up behind him and straddled his thighs. “I’m going to start on your shoulders and I’ll go down your back. If I do something or touch something that you don’t like, tell me and I’ll move somewhere else or stop. It’s fine to tell me, I promise.” He wanted to stress that it was okay to tell him to stop.

Harry nodded. He was able to slightly see Draco in the corner of his eye as his head was turned to face left.

Draco reached down and started the massage. He began with the shoulders like he said, digging in and forcing the knots to undo themselves. He frowned, Harry was so stressed his knots might as well have knots of their own.

Harry grimaced at first, it did hurt, but he trusted Draco.

After a few minutes on the shoulders, Draco slowly moved down. Harry sighed and his shoulders began to feel useless. They were overtaken by a wave of relaxation accompanied by a dull pleasure. Harry blinked a few times and shifted. He wasn’t used to feeling like that. Just as he suspected, he felt a bit vulnerable.

He heard a chuckle behind him, he could practically hear the smirk in Draco’s voice, “Feels good, doesn’t it?”

Harry didn’t respond, not wanting to admit Draco was right. Draco arched an eyebrow, taking the silence as a challenge. He couldn’t help he still had his competitive nature and it was still somewhat directed at Harry. He began digging his fingers in deeper and moving his hands lower. He was almost to the small of Harry’s back.

An accidental groan escaped Harry’s mouth as even more of his back was overtaken by sweet pleasure. Harry opened his mouth to try and apologize but a whine came out instead. Now he was embarrassed and moved to shove his face into the bed, hoping to hide his embarrassment and to muffle himself if it happened again.

Draco gently shook with a silent laughter, “It’s alright Harry, it’s perfectly normal during a massage. Few can keep quiet under my hands anyways.” He said proudly. He was pleased that he got some noises out of Harry, but he wasn’t sure why he was proud.

Harry rolled his eyes even though Draco couldn’t see it. He felt Harry’s body relent, going slack under his hands. He found himself enjoying it more than he should. Something about having Harry under him, enjoying his touch, it was almost too much for Draco.

He never thought he would be physically attracted to Harry, but of course he was, Harry’s the most charming and hilarious man Draco’s ever met. Not to mention how gorgeous he is.

Draco gulped as he realized that he likes Harry as much more than a friend.

He continued the massage and Harry occasionally let out a whimper or two. When he finished, Harry felt like he couldn’t move. Or at least he didn’t want to move.

“How do you feel now?” Draco asked.

“I don’t wanna get up. Or move. What have you done to me?”

He smirked, “I made you relax.” He answered smugly.

“If I had the willpower to move, I would fight you.”

“I’m sure you would.” Draco said as he got up, deciding to preserve what dignity Harry had left.

It was then that Harry realized he was hard as a rock. His eyes widened and now he had even more motivation not to move. He didn’t even know it happened until that moment. He wasn’t sure how he had risen without feeling it, he assumed the massage had distracted him from what was going on elsewhere. He figured he would be fine if he just stayed still.

All was well until twenty minutes later. The tingle of the pleasure wore off and Harry was fine again, except he was still hard.

Draco started to get suspicious, “Harry, are you alright?”

“Yes, why?”

“You haven’t moved in twenty minutes.”

“I’m tired, I don’t want to move.”

Draco was silent, but he started to get a sneaking suspicious that Harry was hard. “Did you enjoy the massage?”

Harry blushed, “Yes.”

“Now I see what you mean when you say you can’t keep quiet. That was so adorable.” He said in reference to Harry’s whine during the massage.

“It wasn’t adorable, I couldn’t help it!” He defended himself a bit passionately. He was partially trying to justify his boner to himself.

Draco tilted his head, “Harry, do you have a boner?”

Harry was silent a moment before relenting, “How could you tell?”

“You haven’t moved in twenty minutes and you just received your first massage. Plenty of people get turned on when they have a massage. It’s alright.”

Harry covered his face with his arms. “It isn’t, it’s embarrassing.”

“Do you want me to leave so you can take care of it?”

“I don’t want to take care of it I just want it to go away.”

Draco raised an eyebrow, “I’ve never before seen a teenage boy decline pleasure while having a boner.”

Harry thought a moment, wondering how honest he should be. His honesty with the Marauder’s was going well, so he hoped it would work with Draco as well. “I don’t like that I feel like I can’t control myself when I do that.”

There was a moment of silence as Draco understood what Harry was saying. “Harry, you don’t have to be in control all the time. The world rested on your shoulders for long enough. Relax, give in.”

“I don’t know how and I’d rather not. I’m good at being stressed, no, wait. I mean I’m used to stress, stress is familiar. I don’t like the vulnerability of pleasure.” He tried to work his feelings in the simplest form possible so that Draco would understand his issue.

Draco shook his head. “You can be so emotionally vulnerable, but I guess physical vulnerability is a struggle.” Harry was always so open to him in their late night chats. But physicality must be where Harry draws the line with what he can handle. Draco smirked some, “You need someone to break down that wall.”

“Draco, stop teasing me.”

“I’m not, I’m being honest. There’s gotta be someone you’ve got your eyes on. Some lucky witch or wizard.”

Harry thought a moment, but for some reason his mind always went back to Draco. The most attractive person he knew, Draco. The person he always wants to be around, Draco. Someone he wouldn’t mind waking up to every day, Draco. Someone he trusts with all his secrets, Draco.

It was then that he realized he likes Draco as much more than a friend. But he decided that then wasn’t the time for a confession. They were in the middle of a conversation and he had no idea how Draco felt.

“What are you getting at?”

“It’s winter, the perfect season to cuddle up to someone. Start slow, break down that wall.”

“Cuddle up to someone? Like we did on the couch by the fireplace after I wrapped Teddy’s presents?” He reminded with a smirk.

Draco blushed, looking away. “I suppose we did. But that wasn’t proper cuddle.”

Harry rolled his eyes, “There’s a proper way to cuddle? Seriously? I might not know much about physical intimacy, but I’m fairly certain there are no rules or proper techniques.”

“Well I would prove my point, but your little problem might make me have one as well.”

Harry turned onto his side, curling into a ball and facing away from Draco. “Don’t mention it, it’ll go away on it’s own.”

“Go take a hot shower and get off! You know the silencing charm.”

Harry relented and got up. He was entirely unable to handle the problem anymore.

He pulled his shirt down to cover it up. He went into the bathroom and used the charm. He stripped, turned the shower on, grabbing his shower supplies and getting in.

The warm water tore a groan from Harry’s mouth. He quickly washed his hair and body, hoping that maybe his problem would just go away. But instead, his tip was resting against his lower stomach by the time he was finished.

He gulped and wrapped a hand around himself. He moaned softly and started moving his hand back and forth, the callous on his thumb making his hips jerk each time he touched his own tip.

He panted softly and let out occasional groans, moving his hand faster. His hips shifted as pleasure radiated through him, weakening his knees as his back arched.

His thumb quickly rubbed around his tip and that knocked him to his knees.

The warm water caressed his body and made everything feel hotter. It allowed his hand to glide smoothly across his own length, his hips starting to buck.

He was abashed by his own behavior. How easy it was for his hips to move, how easy it was to crave more, how easy it was to make noise and let his own hand take him away. He’d never been so free before.

He got louder, moans and soft cries escaping between pants. His hand went faster and faster as his hips started to buck wildly and tremble. The rough pad of his thumb continued to tease his tip and his thighs began to shake.

He leaned over but his back arched, “Ah fuck!” He squeezed his eyes shut as his tip began to leak. He moved his hand faster while pathetic and desperate whimpers left his mouth at every exhale. He lost all semblance of shame and yearned for the sordid pleasures of flesh. With his mind gone and his body craving the end, he let everything go.

He threw his head back and bucked his hips quickly, thrusting into his own fist as fast as he could. He was helpless to pleasure. He needed it, he craved it, he had to have it. His body shook and his free hand clawed at the floor for purchase. Moans and whines tumbled out of his mouth as he panted from the growing heat.

His release was charging towards him and he crashed within a matter of moments.

He raised up on his knees and his hips jerked forward, stuttering as his release shot up into his chest. The rest of his body was leaned back and useless, arched back and open mouth, completely hapless from the overwhelming feelings that rushed through him.

He didn’t realize he was letting out strangled cries until a few seconds later when he became aware of his own panting again. His body dropped. He sat back down in the shower and his head hung as he hunched over.

He whimpered a few more moments before he regained control of his body. He lazily washed his torso and then turned off the water.

He stood on unsteady legs and he dried off, throwing on a sweater and pajama pants. His feet slid across the floor as he lazily made his way to the door, removing the silencing charm. He walked out of the bathroom and looked like a wreck.

His hair was damp and wild, his eyelids were low, his eyes had a seductive sheen, his clothes were slightly ruffled, his cheeks were rosy with embarrassment, and he was still a bit blissed-out. It was obvious he was still riding on some after effects of his orgasm and he looked absolutely debauched. He was tempting, tantalizing, he looked like the physical embodiment of sex and pleasure.

Draco gulped and took in the sight, he made sure to remember every detail for his future fantasies. Not only was he immensely proud of himself for giving Harry a boner, he was also proud that he was technically the reason for Harry’s orgasm.

Harry wrapped his arms around himself shyly, “I’m cold.” He mumbled. The switch from the warm shower to the cool room was cruel to his skin.

Draco blinked a few times to try and get rid of how surprised he had been by Harry’s appearance. He opened his arms. “Come here, let me show you how to properly hold someone.”

Harry hesitated a moment, still a bit shy. But after his orgasm he was in the mood to be close to someone. He relented and laid down. He rested his head on Draco’s chest and laid his body between the blonde’s legs. He closed his eyes and he let Draco wrap his warm arms around him.

It was so comfy and cozy. His body was completely relaxed from the massage yet still buzzing from his orgasm and the attention.

Only seconds later, they were both fast asleep.


	14. Cancer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry plants a dark seed inside himself. Or maybe it was always there.

Harry was used to being told he was an idiot. He was used to the words stupid, imbecile, dumbass, foolish, harebrained, moron, halfwit, and cretin being thrown around.

With that, he was also quite used to being told that he was wrong. He was wrong about maths, English, science, he washed dishes wrong, cleaned toilets wrong, scrubbed the floors wrong, he ate wrong, slept wrong, and breathed wrong.

Never in his life had he hoped he would be wrong more than right now.

He found himself in the bathroom in front of a mirror, holding a flower he plucked from outside.

In his study of the restricted section, there wasn’t really much about the dark arts. More about things to watch out for and manifestos. He understood why it was in the restricted section, some of it would be terrible influence on a young mind. But some of it, some of it was very detailed instructions on how to do awful things.

It was meant to be an experiment, just to see if he could really do it.

He was almost afraid to say the words out loud, instead, he recited the incantation in his head, staring at the flower, waiting.

He continued to stare at it, his gaze turning to complete and intent focus. His mind began to reel.

He remembered the few toys he had as a child. They all ended up broken by Dudley. He remembered every name he was called, every almost-friend chased away from him, every Christmas and birthday his spirits were crushed, how he wasn’t allowed to sing, to dance, to play, to be a child, every teacher who pretended they didn’t know what was happening, each physical ailment that was cast aside, every neighbor who looked at him with pity, every officer he prayed would notice him, every scar and bruise that he wished someone would question, every family gathering where he witnessed a loving family that he yearned to be apart of, every night realizing he would never escape, every day realizing his life was a living hell, when he realized that he’d rather be dead than a slave, every time he only wanted someone to love him. Someone. Anyone. Please. Everyone who finally loved him, the friends he made, only to have them die one by one, slowly picked off, dragging on, never knowing who was next. Spending his entire fucking life in pain and misery.

He remembered the neglect, the abuse, the loneliness, the isolation, the darkness, how cold it was, having hope at Hogwarts and then having it ripped away as everyone around him dropped like flies, and the hate. Oh, the hate was the worst of it all. He hated Voldemort, he hated Umbridge, he hated Dumbledore, Lucius, Snape, the Ministry, everyone who died, everyone who lived, the Dursley's, his parents for having him, the way he is, everything he had ever done, in those few seconds he hated everything. But most of all, he hated how peaceful he was. He hated that he didn't kill any of the bastards that hurt him.

Then he remembered the one time he almost did.

He’ll never forget the blood. He’ll never forget the way it poured out of Draco when he laid there on the bathroom floor. If it weren’t for Snape, Draco would easily be dead. Harry didn’t know. He had no idea it was so dangerous, he only knew the spell was meant for enemies. The way Draco gasped, how soft and painful it was. He was dying right in front of him. He was dying and he knew it. Draco felt death only moments away.

Tears were falling down his face, his jaw ached with the urge to cry out, his eyes burned, and his lower lip trembled. Only three seconds had passed and he nearly felt lightheaded with all the memories and emotions that flooded him.

There was a sadness and a hate that had seeped from his mind. It went deep into his bones and it sank into the very core of him. Perhaps it had always been there and he just realized it, maybe it’s been hiding in him. It felt as old and familiar as breathing. As much as he disliked it, he knew it was nothing new.

With that, the flower in his hand died and turned to dust in a matter of seconds.

He did it.

He looked up into the mirror and let out a gasp, nearly falling back as what greeted him.

It was him, just him. But different.

The veins around his eyes had turned black with the darkness that flowed through him. He rushed forward and felt his face, knowing it was real and hoping it would go away.

Eventually, it did fade. But the internal effect never will.

He now had the ability to silently kill in a matter of seconds, and all he had to to was look.

He didn’t really think it would work. He didn’t think he was capable of such hate.

The incantation worked almost as the opposite of a Patronus. It forced him to feel all his worst memories and then it used the hate in him to kill. He didn’t think he was capable of such hate since he was never able killed before. Now he knows he’s capable of more than enough.

He briefly wondered if he had just turned into a monster and what it all meant. Is he evil? Had he always been? Is he capable of murder? He killed the Basilisk. One could argue that a giant evil snake isn’t the same as a human, but isn’t it if it’s just as sentient and alive? He wondered if he had just became capable of murdering another person or if he always had been. He wondered if he would have felt bad about killing if he had done it before or if it would have been as easy as killing the flower. He wondered how different his life would be if he hadn’t started off with this misplaced sense of righteousness that prevented him from killing. Sure, people would have died. Bad people. But so many good ones might still be alive. He could have changed everything if he had stormed the battlefield throwing around more deadly curses. If he had taught DA to kill. Things might have been better if he had started off as a monster and taught his friends to be living nightmares.

He found himself filled with regret. He so badly wished he had killed.

He gasped as he caught himself in his thoughts. He couldn’t believe he was thinking such a thing. He wasn’t capable of murder and he knew it. He almost killed Draco and then fell apart crying at the idea that he had almost ended a life.

He couldn’t be capable of murder, and even if he was, he didn’t want to.

He closed his eyes and decided that being capable, wanting to, and making the choice were three different things. Anyone can kill, plenty can want to kill, but it’s a choice that you make. As long as Harry continued to choose not to be a killer, it didn’t matter what he wanted or could do. He didn’t want to. He couldn’t want to.

He looked in the mirror one last time, shaking the dust off of his hand.

“I’m not a murderer. I could be, maybe I should have been, but I’m not. And I never will be.”

He wanted to be right.

But Harry was used to being told he was an idiot.

\- - - - -

In their room, Draco’s bed was closest to the bathroom. He had just sat down on it when he heard Harry’s chilling words. His blood ran cold and he froze, wondering what could possibly be going on in the bathroom.

He stared at the door and watched Harry walk out, tears dried on his face and blotchy cheeks.

Harry looked up and knew Draco must have heard him, but he didn’t care.

“What happened?” Draco’s voice was a whisper, he was too shocked and almost afraid to managed a voice any louder than that.

Harry’s throat constricting a bit as if his body didn’t want him to speak. He was so hurt and angry that it gave him a bit of a headache.

“I remember when I followed you into the bathroom. You had your vest off and you were crying, splashing water on your face. You were so hurt, and in the Great Hall you looked terrified. I should’ve asked if you were alright instead of accusing you of things. I should’ve done a million things. I did everything wrong, and I wish I did things differently. But I guess now I can’t change anything. It’s all happened now. But, .....” Harry trailed off. He never planned on mentioning what had happened. He was under the impression that if he didn’t talk about it, then it would go away. He was wrong. “Draco, I almost kill you.”

Draco closed his eyes, he remembered it all clear as day. “Yea. I know.” He was still hurt by it. “I wished you had.” He confessed without even realizing the words were falling from his lips, but once they did, he decided he didn’t care. “When I was laying there, I felt it. I felt it all. It hurt so bad. But I wanted to die. For a while I hated Snape for saving me. I figured if I died then I wouldn’t have to deal with all this anymore. Of course I’m glad that I survived. But in the moment I wanted to die.” He sighed, a bit shaken from having finally said it. “Harry, you didn’t know it would kill me. You had no idea and there was no way you could’ve known. It happened, but now we’re both okay.”

He paused a moment, gauging Harry’s reaction to his words. Harry was shocked, but he wasn’t completely surprised. “Harry, please. I don’t know what happened in there but the war is over. You won’t have to hurt anyone ever again. You definitely won’t have to kill.” He looked more concerned for Harry than anything else.

“What do you know about killing? You’ve never done it.” He argued.

“Neither have you.”

“Haven’t I?” Harry asked, tilting his head. “Were you there, by my side, for the entirety of my journey? Can you really attest to the things I may or may not have done?”

Draco’s concern melted to a shocked disbelief, “Did you?”

Harry grinned, “Ha! Even _you_ think I could do it. Even if it was just for a moment, you believed I did.” He let out a chuckle at his own sad victory, then his face fell back into a look of desolation and regret. “No Draco, I never killed anyone. Not unless you count the Basilisk. But he was just as sentient and alive as the two of us, the only different was his species. He technically wasn’t one of us, but he was just like us.”

Draco found himself of the verge of slapping Harry. He briefly considered it, but decided not to. “I don’t know what happened in that bathroom but you need to forget it! Get it out of your head right now because you need to stop this nonsense! You aren’t and never will be a murderer, the war is over!” He grew louder and was shouting by the end of his spiel, completely overtaken by his own emotions that had been brought up at the mention of his near-death experience.

“Not for me it isn’t!” Harry shouted right back, not letting a second pass between Draco’s words and his. “It might be over for you, but it isn’t for me! I’m trapped Draco! I’m stuck in it! I’m still in it! I want it to be over but it isn’t! Fuck!” He finally snapped. He threw his wand across the room and walked away. He couldn’t deal with it but he found himself walking right back to Draco. “I have nightmares.” His voice was much softer and broken now. His entire mood shifted.

Draco’s mood shifted as well, he went right back to being concerned. He didn’t speak, wanting Harry to continue.

“I have nightmares. Everyone dies, you die, Hermione, Sirius, McGonagall, my parents, fuck.” He covered his mouth a moment, closing his eyes as his throat closed up and burned from how much he wanted to cry. “Everyone dies. I kill someone. Something goes wrong. I’ve seen Hogwarts burn a thousand times, I’ve died a hundred times, I’ve seen and done things and sometimes I wake up and I can’t remember what really happened.”

Draco was in a state of shock. He had no idea. “Harry, do you have these dreams often?”

“Yea.”

“When do you not have them?”

Harry stared at the ground, embarrassment taking over at the worst time possible. “When I sleep with you.”

Draco immediately wrapped his arms around Harry, pulling the boy close. “Then we’ll sleep together from now on, yea? No more nightmares. Not on my watch.”

“I’m sorry Draco, I’m so sorry.” His tears finally spilled out.

“It’s alright, Harry.”

In that moment, Harry became certain that he could never kill.

He also became certain that he needs Draco in his life. Not for the nightmares, but for who Draco is as a person. Harry decided he never wanted to lose Draco.


	15. Christmas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys have their first Christmas with Teddy and with each other.

After Harry’s small breakdown, the boys got a lot closer.

Draco made good on his suggestion of them sleeping together. Every night Harry would either silently crawl into Draco’s bed, or Draco would invite himself into Harry’s. They always fell asleep just a few centimeters shy of each other, but they were always touching when they woke. Either Harry would wake up with his face in Draco’s chest or vice versa. When they woke, they usually didn’t move. They made excuses about being too tired. Sometimes they didn’t say a thing, they wordlessly laid together and it was mutually understood that neither wanted to move for reasons unknown.

Harry’s experiment with dark magic gave him a lot to think about. Was he a bad person for being tempted to try? He figured he wasn’t as long as he didn’t do it again. But he also questioned the memories that were brought up in order to incite his hate. They were few and vague. According to the texts he read, most people are hit with many specifics memories in order to get them to feel hatred. So many memories have to be used that the witch or wizard often experiences some form of temporary memory loss or migraine afterwards. But Harry only went through a few vague memories and that was all it took.

He didn’t like that.

Harry didn’t like how easy it was to get him to feel enough hate to end a life. He’s healed so much from the war that he had forgotten all about his childhood. All the terrible things he went through. He pushed it to the side, assuming he was just over it and grown past it. But now he knew he wasn’t.

There was no way he would ever forgive his aunt and uncle for what they did. He’s heard people say that you need to forgive your enemies, not for them but for yourself. Harry can only assume anyone who believes that doesn’t know hate or anger. He doesn’t need to forgive his aunt and uncle. Forgiveness doesn’t have to be part of healing. He plans on dealing his the trauma they brought him and cutting them out of his life entirely. Seemed just as good as forgiveness.

\- - - - -

Christmas morning came and Harry woke with a grin. He hardly slept that night because he was so excited. He was running purely on adrenaline that morning.

He sat up and turned towards Draco, hesitating. He didn’t want to give Draco an unpleasant awakening.

He laid there a bit awkwardly, momentarily distracted by how peaceful the other looked. He gently shook the boy awake. “Draco? Wake up, come on love. It’s Christmas.”

“Love?” Draco questioned in a groggy voice as he slowly woke up. That was the part that stuck out to him. Though love wasn’t exactly a romantic nickname, it did convey at least a bit of affection. He was chuffed to say the least.

To say the most, he was pleasantly surprised. He didn’t expect a slip up like that but it left him wondering. Most slip-ups like that occur when someone accidentally says aloud what they were thinking. Certainly there was some meaning behind Harry accidentally calling him love. Either that or he was thinking into it way too much.

Harry realized his slip but he pretended it didn’t happen. Denial might not be a river in Egypt, but it’s certainly an option. “I’m going to brush my teeth, wake yourself up.”

Harry got up and rushed into the bathroom to dress and brush his teeth while Draco woke himself up and got dressed. They switched rooms so Draco could brush his teeth and fix his hair while Harry waited impatiently.

Draco found himself grinning in the mirror while he thought about Harry’s slip-up. He found it quite adorable that Harry accidentally called him love.

He fixed his hair a bit and found himself frowning a bit at his reflection. He messed his hair up some, hoping to find a better hairstyle. He grimaced at the monstrosity of blonde locks atop his head. He was so used to seeing himself with clean-cut and formal hair. Messiness didn’t work very well. He tried changed his part, moving more do his hair to one side and then the other. He brushed his hair back into the sleek look he preferred when he was younger. He used to like the hairstyle because it was similar to his father’s. Now, he hated it.

He messed his hair up a bit again, and then decided to put his hair back in it’s usual formal style. He decided it was best that way.

When Draco came out he wrapped Harry in a hug, “Merry Christmas.” Maybe it was how close they’d become, maybe it was Harry’s slip-up, maybe it was the holiday spirit, but he was feeling a bit affectionate.

Harry blinked in surprise and then hugged Draco back, “Yea, m-merry Christmas.”

They went downstairs and ate breakfast. Since it was Christmas and they were rebels, they both sat together at the Slytherin table.

After eating, they gathered their presents for Teddy and took off to see him.

\- - - - -

Teddy was in the sitting room, waiting with Andromeda. He was dressed in a onesie with candy canes and snowmen all over it. He was absolutely precious.

“Merry Cismas Arry, merry Cismas Dayco.” Teddy greeted them when they arrived with three fingers in his mouth, drooling a little bit.

“Merry Christmas Teddy!” They both responded.

“And Merry Christmas aunt Andromeda.” Draco said, giving her a hug. “I know you said not to get you anything, but I tend not to do what I’m told.” He said, handing her a wrapped present.

Andromeda smiled and playfully rolled her eyes, “I expected as much from you.” She opened the present to reveal a pair of silver earrings with orange sapphires on them.

“Draco, how did you find these?”

“Oh, I just asked around.” He shrugged as if it had been simple and easy.

They were a pair of earrings that Andromeda once loved very dearly, but had to pawn away at one point when times got tough. They had been given to her by her late husband for their fifth anniversary.

Draco knew how much she loved them and decided to get them back for her. Of course it took a bit of asking a around, and a few threats, but he tracked them down in a matter of days. He had to get a bit creative with his threats as he could no longer use his father as a proxy. But he was a Malfoy, and that still meant something. Even with the fall of Voldemort, some family names still preserved their meaning as they didn’t rely entirely on a dark lord for their power. The Malfoys have a long history of power and manipulation, and though Draco is a very good person, some things don’t change. Especially when Draco is going after something he wants.

“I also got you a present, but it’s significantly less meaningful or creative.” Harry confessed, handing her a small purse filled with ten thousand Galleons.

Andromeda looked inside and paled, “Harry! Where did you get money like this? I can’t accept all this.”

“My family is loaded. I also do business in the Muggle economy.” Harry briefly explained, “I want you to have this. If not for yourself, use it to buy things you need for Teddy. Or store it for a rainy day. If I keep it I’ll buy something really stupid.” His mind drifted back to his first trip to Diagon Alley where he would of bought a solid gold cauldron had Hagrid not stopped him.

“Stupid.” Teddy repeated.

Harry cringed, “Ah, we’re at the magical age where kids repeat everything they hear. How fun.”

Draco stifled a laugh, not wanting to encourage Teddy.

Andromeda smiled at Teddy and looked at him with loving eyes as she spoke, “Yes, it’s been lovely. Give it a few months and he’ll be cursing like a sailor.” She then turned back to Harry and Draco. “But, thank you. Both of you.”

The boys nodded and then sat down. Draco sat on a chair while Harry sat on the floor by Teddy. The two young men briefly looked at each other and seemed to have a moment of recognition. It was in that moment their different upbringings became apparent. Draco slowly moved onto the floor by Harry. Andromeda was quite amused by the two.

Harry was very excited to explain Christmas to Teddy, “Do you know what today is?”

“Merry Cismas.”

“Yes, it’s Christmas! Do you know what that means?”

Teddy chewed on three fingers, waiting for Harry to tell him what Christmas was.

“It’s a day where everyone gets presents!”

Teddy bounced happily in response.

Twenty seven presents later and Teddy was all done unwrapping his new wardrobe. He won’t need new clothes until he’s six. They loaded him up for the next few years.

“Goodness, why so many clothes?” Andromeda asked.

Harry shrugged, “Because I have no impulse control and I want to give Teddy the world.” It was an honest response. At the shop, Draco had to practically force Harry to leave because he wouldn’t stop buying stuff for Teddy.

Andromeda smiled, “I felt the same way with Nymphadora.” She looked sad for a moment. It was the first time she said her name since the war.

It was everyone’s first Christmas after the war. It was a bittersweet season.

They helped hang up all the clothes while a few house elves cleaned up all the wrapping paper and bows on the ground.

They spent the next five hours playing with Teddy before they had to head back to Hogwarts. They ended up spending some time by the fireplace again.

They started off sitting next to each other. It was perfectly casual and friendly. But as conversation went on, they got closer and closer. In the end, Draco had his head in Harry’s lap, and Harry was leaned across the couch so his head rested on the armrest while his legs still fell off the couch at his knees. Meanwhile, Draco’s legs hung off the other armrest. It wasn’t exactly romantic, but it was something that signaled they weren’t just casual friends. They were something closer than that.

Sometime in the afternoon, Harry remembered his presents for Draco. They had been hidden under his bed for weeks now and he managed to forget they were ever even there. He sat up and looked down at Draco, “I have your Christmas present in our room if you want it.”

Draco looked a bit surprised. He was genuinely caught off guard. He didn’t expect that Harry would get him a Christmas present. But the confession reminded him that he had Harry’s Christmas present tucked away under his bed.

“Alright then, let’s go.”

They entered their room and Harry looked under his bed, pulling out a few presents and handing them to Draco, “Merry Christmas.” He said shyly. He was a bit nervous about whether or not Draco would take a joke.

Draco smiled, taking then and opening the first one. “How to play Quidditch for dummies.” Draco eyes gave a glare but he was smiling, finding the book to be hilarious.

Harry gave a cheeky smile and watched Draco open the other presents. At the books on medicine he seemed quite excited, “Thank you, Harry.”

Draco was very interested in the Muggle books. He knew they had superior medicines, sometimes they even recommended that wizards go to Muggle hospitals when their ailments were too much. It was very rare though. He hoped that with this knowledge he might be able to further Wizarding society’s medical knowledge.

There was one small box left. Draco opened it and saw a silver bracelet with silver charms on it, each charm being a different kind of flower. Draco put it on and looked up at Harry with a grin, “It matches your necklace.” He pointed out. He was smiling as if it meant a lot to him that it matched.

Draco then smirked and pulled out his own present for Harry. “You’re going to have to try to hide this one.” He said, pulling out a rather large wrapped present.

It was obviously hand-wrapped.

Harry tore into it to reveal it was a radio. No wonder Draco suggest he hide it, Muggle technology was forbidden because being in contact with magic can eventually enchant the object. Normally he wouldn’t believe such a thing, but after being around the Weasley’s flying car, he knew the radio would eventually be magical. But for now, he didn’t care.

He picked it up and immediately took it over to the window, messing around with the dials after he turned it on. A few turns and he managed to tune in to a radio station playing Pompeii by Bastille.

“And the walls kept tumbling down, in the city that we love. Grey clouds roll over the hills, bringing darkness from above.”

Metaphorically, the song was golden. But sometimes Harry forgot that literally, the song was about the decimation of Pompeii by a volcanic eruption.

Draco was completely mesmerized. The wizarding world didn’t have anything like that. He’s never heard music like it before.

Especially when it got to the vocalization at the end.

“Wow.” Draco sighed, “That song was brilliant.”

“Oh, that? That’s Pompeii by Bastille. It’s pretty good but I prefer Wild World or Way Beyond.” Harry said with a shrug.

“Is that what Muggle music tends to sound like?”

“Draco there are hundreds of genres of music and thousands of musicians out there. Muggle music doesn’t have a tendency to sound one way or another.”

Next up was Dive by Ed Sheeran, what Harry considers to be one of his best songs because of the raw vocals. Ed Sheeran’s gorgeous voice serves as a reminder that there’s no way Harry will ever not be attracted to men.

Harry turned the volume up and laid down on his bed, “Thank you Draco, this is the most amazing present I ever got.”

Ed Sheeran’s voice serenaded them both as silence fell and they listened.

By the end of it, Draco looked shocked. “His voice is so amazing! How have I never heard of him before?”

“I don’t know. He’s one of the most famous artists in the world.”

“In the world?”

Harry raised an eyebrow, “Do wizard artists not play concerts all over the world?”

“Very few ever get that well known. It’s more of a regional thing. Does he really play everywhere?”

“Ed Sheeran is so famous that it doesn’t matter where he held a concert, thousands would show up. He’s phenomenal.”

Draco agreed and then chuckled, “I shouldn’t of been so dismissive of Muggle and halfblood culture. You lot have some good tastes.”

Harry rolled his eyes, “Of course we do.”

ABBA came on next.

They spent the afternoon listening to music, till it was time for the Christmas feast. Harry turned off the radio and hid it under his bed.

They went out and Harry sat with Draco at the Slytherin table again. There weren’t many people anyways, less than twenty remained and they were all spread out by house and year. Harry figured there was no point in him sitting alone on Christmas.

McGonagall took notice of how Draco and Harry sat together, laughing away with each other. She couldn’t help but to smile to herself. She always had hope for Draco. She always knew he wasn’t like the rest. She was very pleased with how the two turned out. It could of ended a lot worse, and she considered them lucky that things ended the way they did.

When they were back in their dorm, Draco went to take a shower. While he was in there, Harry quickly pulled out the map.

“Merry Christmas guys.” He spoke in a low voice, “I don’t have much time but I wanted to tell you about Teddy’s first Christmas.” He told them about how Teddy could almost say Christmas, about the games they played, Draco’s meaningful present to Andromeda, and about how he just gave her a bunch of money. He also told them about he and Draco’s gift exchange. “I don’t really know why I got him a bracelet. I know he likes silver and it’s silver, he likes flowers and it had flower charms, and it matches my necklace.”

_’What necklace? - Moony’_

“Oh, in my parent’s vault I found a silver necklace with a lily on the end. I’ve been wearing it everyday.”

James was a bit surprised that Harry found it. He didn’t really know what happened with their stuff after they died. He figured Petunia took most of it and sold it. He remembered Lily had lost the necklace after a trip to the bank once, it must of fallen off in the vault. She was quite distraught about having lost it, so he decided to mention to her that Harry found it and wore it daily. She was very pleased by this.

_’That was Lily’s, I remember she wore it everyday at school. That lad James gave it to her. He was always so handsome and charming. - Prongs’_

“According to my mum he’s a daft cunt. In her journal, she called him a bastard, dumb jock, a waste of a pretty face. But I guess he must’ve turned around because she eventually changed her mind about him.”

James knew nothing about Lily’s journal and had no idea that she hated him so much. He knew he was annoying, but he didn’t think he was that bad.

 _‘Honestly, your father was a bit of a tosser. Always pulling pranks, getting his friends in trouble. If I remember correctly, they were innocent angels and James was a right bastard. - Padfoot’_  
_‘I think your memory’s a bit muddled Padfoot. I remember his friend Sirius being a huge slut. Wasn’t a witch or wizard he wouldn’t sleep with. Even tried to ask McGonagall to the Yule Ball. - Prongs’_  
_‘Well I also remember how James would flirt with McGonagall at every chance. - Padfoot’_  
_‘I also remember that. - Moony’_  
‘Who’s side are you on Moony?! - Prongs’  
_‘I’m just being honest. - Moony’_

Harry raised an eyebrow, “You lot seem to know quite a bit about my parents and their friends. How did you all know each other?” He figured now would be as good a time as any to pop the question.

_‘We were friends at Hogwarts. - Padfoot’_

“Were you lot in the Order too?” He hoped they were so he could put faces to the pseudonyms and perhaps even find their real names

_‘No, we didn’t join. - Padfoot’_

Harry tilted his head, he found himself at a bit of a loss. They knew so much, but there was no mention of three guys that his mother was friends with in her journal besides his father, godfather, and Remus.

“Can I know your names?”

There was no response for a moment.

_’We would like to remain a bit ambiguous. We’ll tell you our names when you graduate. - Moony’_

“Alright then.”

Harry didn’t dispute it any more. He heard Draco turning the water off in the shower and he was quick with saying goodbye. He put away the map and smiled when Draco came back out.

“Draco?”

“Yes?”

“Do you really want to work at Hogwarts when you graduate? Why not St. Mungo’s?” He decided to try a bit of small talk. He had also been pondering he question for a while now.

Draco thought a moment, “Hogwarts shaped me. If I had gone anywhere else, I’d still be the absolute shit that I was when I was eleven. St. Mungo’s is just a hospital. Hogwarts changes lives. I want to be part of it.”

Harry gave a smile, “Who knows, you might become Slytherin’s head of house one day.”

“You might be Griffindor’s.”

“Oh, that would be fun. We could hex each other during Quidditch matches.”

“Then I’d have to heal us both.”

“I think I’d be in good hands.”

Draco rolled his eyes, “Just another day on the job for Nurse Malfoy.”

Harry chuckled, “I don’t know how the school will feel about the DADA professor and nurse fighting each other.”

Draco cracked a smile, “I wonder how your younger friends will feel about having to refer to you as professor.”

“I wonder how they’ll feel about you taking care of them every time they do something stupid and get hurt.”

“Well with you no longer being a student, I’d imagine it’ll happen a lot less.”

Harry glared at him, “I really hate you, because you’re right.”

“Injuries will go down, test scores will go up, it’ll be a miracle.”

“I’m going to take a shower.” Harry got up and grabbed a change of clothes, tired of the fact that Draco was right.

Draco smirked, “Need to wank?” He teased.

Harry glared again but this time his cheeks were pink. “Shut up, Malfoy.” He taunted, but they both knew what he really meant. When one referred to the other by their surname, it always sparked a bout of friendly teasing and argument. Mocking their younger selves and their old bickering.

Draco raised an eyebrow, “Embarrassed, Potter? I know with your fame and status, you think yourself too refined to have such carnal desires. But if I remember correctly, I didn’t even have my hands on you five minutes and you were a horny wreck.”

He smirked at the memory, proud that he had turned the golden boy into such a mess.

Harry on the other hand, was still a bit scandalized and embarrassed. “I was not!”

“You weren’t even in the shower for ten minutes. I feel sorry for your future lover.”

“I can’t help that I never got the chance to wank all the time! On the other hand, I remember you telling me that you’ve laid with men in the bushes plenty of times. Bit of a slut, aren’t you, Malfoy?”

Draco only smirked, “Jealous that other men have touched my ethereal blonde hair?” He would never let Harry live down his love letter.

Harry crossed his arms, “No, of course not! I wasn’t waxing poetic because I want to have sex with you, I was waxing poetic because you’re just that beautiful!”

Draco was staggered. His cheeks went pink and his lips parted in shock. He found himself motionless and mute a moment before he found his voice again. “You. You think I’m beautiful?” Somehow the idea of Harry finding him to be beautiful was surprising, even after the letter.

“Just because I wear glasses doesn’t mean I’m blind. Of course you’re beautiful.”

Draco didn’t know what else to say. He was extremely flattered but also in a bit of shock.

Harry took Draco’s silence as a victory and left to shower.

Draco found himself grinning. Maybe he does fancy Harry. Usually when someone complements him, it doesn’t mean as much as when Harry does. He wasn’t sure why, but Harry calling him beautiful filled him with excitement. He wanted to jump up and down and laugh, he couldn’t believe how giddy it made him.

He got comfortable in his bed and laid down, preparing to talk with Harry until some ridiculous hour of the night.

Tonight’s topic was Teddy. They went on and on about all the things they were going to teach him to do, about how they were going to give him a better life, about how they would support him no matter what he decided to do.

They sounded like proud parents. As they laid together, their words eventually muddled into silent slumber.


	16. Aishite

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry and Draco enjoy the last of the break together.
> 
> But when everyone returns to Hogwarts, they get tired of Draco and Harry very quickly.

Instead of quarantining himself in the library, Harry checked out a massive stack of books and took them back to his dorm. He found himself preferring to be around Draco, even though he still wanted to do his work.

Draco rolled his eyes at the sight, “You’re taking your job too seriously and you don’t even have it yet.”

Harry cracked a smile and shrugged, “Maybe. But you’re surrounded by books on botany and healing potions. So I’d say the same to you.”

He set the books on his bed and popped one open. He’s always been able to read pretty fast, so Draco was in awe to see Harry spend only a few seconds on each page. He was even more impressed when Harry started to write notes as he read, his eyes never leaving the book.

“Are you writing without looking?”

“Yes.” Harry said, still reading and writing, “Can’t everyone do that?” He never considered that other people might not be able to do what he thought was simple. Growing up he got used to having to multitask in order to please the Dursley’s.

“Not neatly, no.” He tilted his head, “How can you read so fast?”

“I don’t know. I just do it.” Harry didn’t think he was reading fast, this was just his normal pace.

Draco watched him a little longer and then went back to his own book. A few hours later, Harry was already finished with his stack of books, albeit some were quite thin.

Harry made another round trip to the library and returned with another stack, saying it was the rest of the S section.

By dinner, Harry was on to the T’s.

Draco quickly recognized what was happening. Harry was letting himself be pulled back in to obsessing over his work. He hoped it was something that would only last that day and that Harry might be over it tomorrow. But he was wrong.

Once Harry started a task he had a hard time stopping until it was finished. He grew up learning to get a large amount of things done quickly and quietly. The habit stuck with him. He breezed through books like they were nothing and continued to read until the next day.

Draco woke up in Harry’s bed and saw his friend with another stack of books. Suspicion washed over him as he immediately suspected Harry hadn't slept that night and stayed up reading instead. But he dismissed the thought from his mind and decided that Harry couldn't possibly be that invested in reading. “When did you wake up?”

Harry didn’t even look up, “I never went to sleep.” He said it as if it didn’t even matter. “I’m already on V. There’s a good bit on Vampires and Veelas, but there’s also a lot about the veil and voids.” It seemed he was only interested in discussing the subject matter of his books. He couldn’t care less about sleeping.

“Harry! I thought we agreed you weren’t going to overwork yourself and you were going to relax during the break. There’s still four days left.” Draco sighed, “I already threatened you with magic, but you didn’t listen.” He reached for his wand. He hoped it would be enough to compel Harry into stopping because he didn't actually have a plan. He was hoping intimidation would be enough.

“Let me finish this book, then I’ll sleep.” He took the threat seriously and tried to compromise.

“Harry, you just picked up that book and it’s huge.”

Even if Harry could read fast, Draco knew it would take him a few hours to finish it.

Harry glanced down at it, realizing it's size. But rather than defend the book, he got excited about it's content. "It’s a complete history on dark magic of Vampires. Rituals done with Vampire blood, how to use their venom, how to extract it and keep the Vampire contained and alive. It’s quite gruesome and a bit fucked.”

Draco whined, “Harry, it’s nine in the morning.” It was far too early for such a gruesome tale. He knew Harry wouldn’t care so he changed tactics. “I’ll tell you what, you can keep reading, but you’re going to bed early tonight.”

He rolled his eyes, but he knew Draco was only looking out for him, so he relented. “Yes, mum.”

Draco gave up and went to go get breakfast, bringing Harry back some fruit and looking quite shocked to see Harry was almost halfway done with the book. He had only been gone an hour but Harry was a little over a quarter done.

Harry spent the morning and afternoon charging right through the restricted section. The W’s were a bit beefy as there were a lot of books with titles that began with werewolf, witch, or wizard. X was only a few books long, Y had some interesting books on dark Yule rituals, and Z had two sickening books on zombification.

He was done that evening.

“I did it! I read the entirety of the restricted section, and I did it before break ended, just like I said I would!” Harry celebrated as he put down his last book. But rather than relaxing, he was ready to complete his next task. “I should finish making my lesson plans.”

He was high off his accomplishment and adrenaline from lack of sleep. He felt like he was ready to get things done. He was wanted to dive in and do more work.

“No! Harry, we agreed that you were going to go to bed early.”

He glanced at the time and tried to reason with Draco. “It’s only ten. I’ll be asleep before midnight.”

“Yes, you will be.”

Harry rolled his eyes, “Draco, you can’t make me relax." In his mind, forcing someone to relax was a very paradoxical and made no sense. Then again, most of his youth felt like a blur and still didn't make much sense to him. Up until he was eleven he didn’t even think magic was real.

“Oh yes I can, but I would never use those spells on someone without their consent.”

“I’m starting to think those spells don’t exist.” Harry said, not challenging Draco, but genuinely doubting the existence of such spells. “Certainly I would’ve heard about them before now.”

He's been in plenty of conversations where someone will go on about their sex life, sometimes in a bit too much detail, but no one has ever mentioned getting magic involved. Besides that, plenty of the grown witches and wizards that he’s met are complete prudes.

Draco raised an eyebrow, “Harry, no parent in their right mind would teach these spells to their child and the books can't be found in Hogwarts. You would have to go to the adult section of bookshops to find a spell book like that. I only know about it because I stumbled upon a copy in one of my uncle's estates.”

“And you took the time to learn these spells, why?”

“As you said on Christmas, I’m a bit of a slut. Or at least I was.” He sighed, “I haven’t had any dick since last Valentine’s Day.” He seemed genuinely saddened by that.

Harry was a mix of confused and amused. He wasn’t sure how to respond so he went with, “Poor you.”

Draco nodded, “Exactly! So don’t tempt me to use adult spells on you, because I will.”

Harry blushed, “Why?” He found himself wondering why Draco would even suggest such a thing. Harry would never joke like that with Ron or Neville.

“Why what?”

“Why would you want to do that?” Part of him just considered it to be just a joke. But part of him didn’t understand why Draco would even consider doing something like that with someone like him.

“Because you’re cute.” He said it like it was obvious.

Harry sounded defensive, “I am not!”

Draco was taken aback at this. Harry sounded as if he really believed he wasn’t cute so Draco aimed to set the boy straight then and there.

“Harry, you have gorgeous green eyes, messy hair that always looks like you just finished shagging, very fit body, a nice arse, you’re funny, kind, loyal, you have a good heart, you’re a damn poet, you like kids, and you saved the world. You’re just about everyone’s wet dream.”

Harry shook his head, “Draco, you don’t have to say that stuff about me. I accepted that I’m not a long time ago.”

Draco froze. At first, he didn’t believe what he was hearing. But now, he was outraged, “Harry fucking Potter, you’re the most attractive man on the planet! Why would you think any different?”

“The Dursley’s I guess. Called me a mutt, freak, monster, a dirty rat, anything degrading. I guess at some point I started to believe it since nobody told me any different until I came here.”

“The Dursley’s were wrong and you know that! Why do you think you so easily landed Cedric and Cho, or that girl that tried to poison you with Amortentia that one time. You have so many admirers, so many people who would give anything for a night with you. You’re beautiful Harry. Never think any different.”

Harry was silent. It was hard to believe, but he wanted to. “I’ll try.” He was a bit overcome by happiness. It was a pleasant surprise to hear Draco compliment him like that.

“Come here.”

Harry looked up, “What?”

“Come here.”

Harry got up and sat on the edge of Draco’s bed.

“Lay down.”

“Draco?” He was a bit embarrassed by the suggestion.

“Lay down with me.”

They both laid down and Draco didn’t hesitate to wrap his arms around Harry and pull him close. Both of their hearts swelled.

Harry’s face rested in Draco’s shoulder and slowly, they both fell asleep like that. Harry couldn’t resist the warmth of Draco’s body, and Draco was so at ease with Harry against him.

When they woke up the next morning, neither wanted to move. They used the excuse of being too tired to move, too coy to admit that they were just overjoyed to get to hold each other.

They spent the rest of break together, living in a bubble that was no bigger than the two of them. They often fell asleep together in one of their beds. It was adorable to see them being all cute and cuddly together. It was annoying when you factored in that they aren’t a couple.

The rest of their break was a lazy blur. There was snow, the fireplace, warm blankets, warm bodies, complements, good food, pajamas, and muggle music droning from Harry's radio. It was all a haze of senses, everything was warm, fuzzy, and calm.

Their hearts were filled with admiration and attraction towards the other. They each liked the other more than they cared to admit. But neither of them said anything.

Why take a risk when you can be happy with what you have?

When break ended and everyone came back to Hogwarts, it felt like their time together had been ruined by everyone else. They just wanted to be alone together.

Of course, their description of their time together wasn’t pleasing to their friends. They talked about the jokes, laughs, warmth, Christmas, holding each other, falling asleep together, sweet words, and their crushes on each other.

Hermione and Ron told Harry that he and Draco were becoming like Dean and Seamus. Neville told Harry he needed to go ahead and confess his feelings to Draco because it was obvious that Draco felt the same way. Dean and Seamus immediately began shipping Harry and Draco.

Luna and Pansy both told Draco he needs to make a move since Harry is obviously in love with him. Pansy went as far as to tell Draco that if he didn’t confess to Harry, she was gonna slip him a truth potion because she’s “not going to spent the rest of the year dealing with your bullshit, Malfoy!”

The thing about love is that when it’s real, it isn’t hard. It doesn’t feel like work, it just happens naturally. Although Harry and Draco weren’t in love, yet, it all felt simple to them. Perhaps it even felt too good to be true.

With that, the winter term began.

Cold weather seeped into Harry’s bones, it was especially noticeable one day when they were all studying at the fireplace. Harry was nearly shivering.

“Are you alright Harry? I can hear your teeth clattering.” Draco commented.

Harry shrugged, “I just get really cold. I think it’s from the cupboard when I was kid. It was so small and right by a vent, so it got hot easily. I think I got so used to the heat that I never properly got used to the cold.”

Draco thought a moment, “Want my jumper?”

Everyone looked up at this.

Neither of them noticed the stares.

“Sure.” Harry agreed.

So Draco pulled his sweater off and gave it to Harry, who happily slipped it on.

They didn’t even seem to noticed how cute it was, but all their friends did, and it was getting annoying. Their friends exchanged frantic and outraged looks, silently communicating how ridiculous it was.

Harry felt his heart picking up and his chest felt light and happy from getting to wear Draco’s clothes. Something about it being Draco’s made it feel warmer, and he also enjoyed the scent on the jumper. Meanwhile, Draco swelled with pride knowing that everyone would see it was his clothes on Harry, which adorably swallowed Harry due to their height difference.

Neville got up and walked away.

Dean and Seamus exchanged a look, knowing they had probably been worse.

Luna smiled to herself.

Pansy glared at the floor.

Hermione tried not to laugh.

Ron tried not to scream.

All in all, it was pretty obvious that their lives were going to be absolute hell if they didn’t set Draco and Harry up as soon as possible.


	17. Don’t Wake Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes, life feels like a dream. If it is, then Harry and Draco don’t want to wake up, because it finally isn’t a nightmare.

Harry found himself going to see Teddy every weekend now. It got to the point where he and Draco were given keys to Andromeda‘s house.

When she gave them the keys, Harry smiled and thanked her. But he wanted to do so much more. He was ecstatic that he could see Teddy anytime, but more than that he felt a sense of purpose. He felt like he had been handed they keys to Teddy's life, he felt like by having these keys he could be there for Teddy. He felt like they were a family.

Teddy was crawling around and sitting up, he tried to climb up chairs and couches, he was saying more words, could name all his favorite foods, started teething, and he can feed himself a bottle. He’s also picked up a habit of grabbing people’s ankles and letting himself be dragged around. He thinks he’s hilarious, Andromeda is worried he’ll pull his arms out of socket, and Harry does it anyways when Andromeda isn’t around, but very gently.

As January went by, he decided to pull out the Marauder’s Map again and have a chat.

He got the standard greeting.

“Hey guys.” He was terrible at starting conversations and he already felt a bit awkward.

The greeting changed.

_‘Alright, we need to establish some ground rules because you've just popped up at the worst possible time. - Moony’_

Harry felt his smile fade, “Sorry, I’ll go.” He figured he interrupted something important.

_‘No! Stay! I insist! - Padfoot’_

“What did I interrupt?”

_‘Padfoot and Moony are wrestling and you threw Moony off. - Prongs’_

Harry raised an eyebrow, “Oh, well in that case I recant my apology because I don’t care.” His own sarcasm helped him feel a bit better.

_‘Thank you Harry, you’re my favorite. - Padfoot’_

He smiled and asked them how they had been. They went into an extensive conversation about how their lives had been. Moony bragged that his wife forgot their anniversary while he remembered, he still hasn’t let it go because this is probably the only time it’ll ever happen and he wants to milk it for all it’s worth. Prongs talked about how his wife’s birthday is coming up and he’s going to surprise her. Padfoot told everyone that he recently slept with a man who died in the seventeen hundreds.

“Well. Alright then.” Was all Harry could say to that.

_‘What about you, how’s the land of the living? - Prongs’_

“Cold. It’s so fucking cold. I’ve been wearing jumpers for two weeks straight.”

_‘That must keep the house elves busy with all your laundry. Either that or you’re running out of clothes. - Padfoot’_

“Well I was at first, then I started taking Draco’s.” He said it so casually, as if it was perfectly normal to borrow his friend's jumpers all the time.

There was a moment of no response. Harry got a bit nervous at that. He didn’t like those moments where no one said anything. It made him feel like he had said the wrong thing or that he sounded stupid.

_‘You’re wearing Draco’s jumpers around? - Prongs’_

“Yes. It’s confused a lot of people seeing me wear a Slytherin jumper with my Gryffindor ties and robes.”

_‘Did Draco offer to let you wear them or did you start stealing them of your own will? - Moony’_

“He offered once and then he told me I could take them whenever I please.” He clarified, figuring their silence might have been over whether or not Harry had permission to take Draco's clothes.

There was nothing once more. That made him nervous again.

“Are you lot alright?” He began to wonder if they had a problem with Draco.

_‘Yes, it’s just that you’re like a son to us and now there’s this boy who’s letting you borrow his sweaters. - Moony’_

“Oh. Then perhaps I should mention everything else that happened.” Harry mumbled, a bit guilty at all the information he had been withholding. He told them about how he and Draco had been cuddling, laying together, going to sleep in each other’s beds, his Howler prank gone wrong, their Christmas together besides the massage and boner, he also decided to skip his experimentation with the dark arts and slight breakdown, but he did talk about how he has a crush on Draco and isn’t sure if Draco likes him back.

_‘Why didn’t you mention all this earlier? - Padfoot’_

“I didn’t think it was important. I also didn’t realize I had a crush on Draco until Christmas.” He never wanted to admit to feelings that he wasn’t completely sure about. He hadn’t been completely sure about how he felt until Christmas. With their increased intimacy, Harry felt like they were already dating.

_‘I need to have a serious talk with Draco because I will find a way to fucking hex him if he ever hurts you. - Prongs’_

James really didn’t care if Harry dated a boy, a girl, or anyone in-between. But if some brat wanted to date his son, he had standards. He immediately began ranting to Lily about how some Slytherin slut was giving Harry his jumpers.

Harry chuckled, “It’s fine, really, I can handle myself.”

_‘I know you can. But I need to talk with him. Lay out the ground rules. No staying out after midnight, he needs to keep his grades up, get a good job, have his own house, continue to treat you and Teddy well, and no sex until marriage. - Prongs’_

“That last one might be a problem since Draco is a huge fucking slut. He’s told me about how he’s had sex with blokes in the bushes, many times.”

_‘Well what about you? - Prongs’_

“I’ve kissed a two people. That’s it.”

_‘Ha, virgin. - Padfoot’_

“Whore.” Harry threw right back, no hesitation.

 _‘You’re not wrong. - Padfoot’_  
_‘You two are missing the big picture here. That slut Malfoy is gonna try to be your first. - Prongs’_

Harry chuckled, “Uh, yea. I suppose that’s possible.” He honestly hadn’t thought about it until now, but if they did get together and have sex, Draco would be his first.

_‘Over my dead body. - Prongs’_   
_‘But you are dead. - Moony’_   
_‘Get the fuck out of here with your facts. - Prongs’_

James was about two seconds away from kicking Remus in the balls.

_‘Do you like him, Harry? Does he make you happy and treat you well? Is he just as tolerable in early mornings and late nights as he is mid-day? Is he good to Teddy? - Padfoot’_

“Yes. I really like him. He makes me so happy, he’s a sweetheart, stubborn as a mule, beautiful, a sarcastic bitch, goes out of his way to make me laugh, and he loves Teddy.”

 _‘Then he’s alright with me. - Padfoot’_  
_‘Me too. - Moony’_  
_‘I still want to talk with him about his intentions. - Prongs’_

“He doesn’t want me just for sex.” Harry whined in defense of Draco, “I don’t even know if he likes me back.”

_‘He’s encouraging you to wear his clothes, tries to sleep in the same bed as you, and cuddles with you as often as possible. He likes you. - Moony’_

“Well when you word it like that, it sounds obvious.”

_‘No Harry, it’s obvious no matter how you word it. You’re just a bit oblivious. - Prongs’_

Harry tilted his head and shrugged, “Fair enough. Well I need to go, almost time for DADA, but I’ll see you lot again soon.”

They said their goodbyes and Harry put the map back in his trunk.

Harry was starting to realize that Draco probably does like him.

Unfortunately, Draco was still oblivious of Harry’s feelings.

\- - - - -

After DADA, and across campus, Draco was wrapped up in a very important meeting. McGonagall has sent a letter telling Draco to some talk with her in her office after class. He was a bit nervous since he was never called into McGonagall’s office for good news. He tried to figure out what he had done on his way there.

“Ah, Mr. Malfoy. Have you any idea why I called you in here?” McGonagall asked as Draco stepped into her office.

Draco shook his head, “Have I done something wrong?” Given his track record, he assumed he was in trouble.

“Quite the opposite. You’re here because Madam Pomfrey has announced she’ll be retiring in five years and she’s named you as her successor. You’ll spend the next five years apprenticing under her, then you’ll run the hospital wing here at Hogwarts.”

Draco’s jaw dropped and a smile pushed onto his face. “Merlin!” He exclaimed in a mix of shock and joy. “But why me? I’m the least experienced person there.”

“Yes, but you’re the most passionate about being a Healer. Madam Pomfrey is impressed by you, no one has learned as quickly as you. You’re a natural. You’re already brewing medicines and treating students on your own. She trusts you and says she’ll only give up the hospital wing if it’s in your hands. At first I was hesitant to entrust it to someone so inexperienced, but after hearing about how you’ve done so well and come so far, I’m inclined to agree with her. Keep up the good work and keep your grades decent, expect a permanent job offer shortly after N.E.W.T. grades are posted.”

Draco seemed more shocked than anything. He covered his face and stared at the ground. He couldn’t believe he was really going to work at Hogwarts. It had always been his dream to work in medicine, and for the past few months being a Healer at Hogwarts was all he wanted. Now he was finally getting it.

“Are you alright, Mr. Malfoy?”

Draco uncovered his face and looked up to reveal he was tearing up. He nodded, “I’m fine. I suppose I’m just shocked because I never expected this would really happen. I want to be a Healer, but part of me doubted it would ever come to fruition.”

McGonagall smiled, “Have a biscuit, Draco. You and I are soon to become coworkers.”

Draco took a biscuit. His mind suddenly went to Harry, who had accidentally become a key component in his fantasy about working at Hogwarts. “I’ve heard Harry will as well.”

She nodded, “That is correct. I’ve asked Harry to get an application from me when he graduates.”

“But I don’t have to?”

“No. You’re the only replacement Pomfrey will accept. I fear if we don’t hire you then Pomfrey may achieve immortality via stubbornness alone, and run the hospital wing indefinitely.”

He grinned, “That certainly sounds like her.”

“Oh, one more thing.” McGonagall added, “I want you to know how proud I am of you. I’m proud of how you’re taking back your life and becoming the person you want to be. Even before Pomfrey insisted you be her replacement, you were the first person I thought of. I really am proud of you. Know that you’ll always have a friend and a home here at Hogwarts.” She knew things haven’t been easy for Draco, she never mentioned it but she always felt bad for him. She saw him as just another victim of the war. He was never her enemy.

Draco felt a tear fall from his face. “Thank you.” He paused a moment. “I assume you’ve heard about my situation, then?”

“I’ve heard rumors.”

“They’re probably true. I’m not allowed to return to the Manor until I inherit it. My parents don’t respond to my letters. My mother will occasionally. I know she loves me, I know she always will, but I feel as if she’s a bit disappointed that I didn’t become who she wanted me to be. I expected to be ignored, even hated by my father. I suspect she doesn’t want to ignore me and that my father is making her.”

McGonagall frowned and quickly formulated a plan in her head. “If you want, I could send a letter saying they need to come talk about your grades, I imagine only your mother will show, you could talk with her then.”

“You would do that for me?” Draco was surprised by both the length at which McGonagall would go for him, and by how she was so readily a liar when necessary.

“Of course I will. I’ll send it out today if you wish. I’ll set the meeting for Saturday, how does that sound?”

“Wonderful.”

“Then consider it done.”

\- - - - -

Draco came rushing into his dorm to tell Harry the good news.

They both celebrated at the idea that their daydream of being coworkers at Hogwarts was coming true. It was as if luck was on their side.

They ended up sitting together on Harry’s bed, talking about it.

“Oh, and McGonagall said I don’t even have to fill out an application. Said I though just expect the job offer.” Draco bragged, enjoying what felt like a bit of favoritism due to how Pomfrey liked him so much.

Harry rolled his eyes, “I don’t mind getting the job the proper way. I don’t have anyone guaranteeing my position. I have to rough out the competition myself.” He tried to play it off as if he was doing it the hard way, but Draco saw past it.

Draco chuckled, “I really doubt anyone is thinking of going against you for DADA professor.”

“I can’t be the only one.”

“You are. Last year everyone thought the job was cursed. Believe me, no one wants it.”

“Any other news?”

“McGonagall is going to try to get my mother to come to the school this weekend so I can talk to her.”

Harry wasn’t sure how to respond at first. He understood the situation and he was nervous to comment because he wasn’t sure how to handle it. “How do you feel about it?”

“I’m excited. I want to see her and talk to her. I suspect she’s only ignoring me because father wants her to. I just hope she’s happy to see me.” Draco paused a moment, finding his words, “I want her in my life, I really do. I even miss my father, but he won’t talk to me. He only wrote me once to let me know he was free and that I couldn’t come to the Manor.”

Harry frowned, “I don’t see how anyone can do that to their own child.” He hated how Draco was being treated by his father. He acted as if their relationship didn’t matter at all to him and it disgusted Harry.

“At least I know I’m really going to be a Healer.” Draco wanted to be an optimist.

“Are you excited?”

“Very. There are a few more complex treatments that I haven’t started learning yet because I’m not experienced enough, but soon I’ll be running the entire hospital wing.” His face fell as he was hit with a realization. “Merlin. I’ll be running the hospital wing and you’ll still be at Hogwarts. You’re a walking disaster.”

“I am not!” Harry tried to defend himself, but part of him knew Draco wasn’t wrong.

“I think you’ve visited the infirmity more often than anyone else has.”

“Probably.”

“Even when you aren’t doing anything dangerous, you get hurt. You’re like a light attracting moths, except you attract injuries.”

“I bet I’ll become your favorite patient.”

“You aren’t allowed to get injured after midnight or before eight.”

Harry chuckled, “Fair enough. Quite honestly I don’t want to be out doing something that could lead to injury between those hours. I enjoy sleep.”

“Oh, you’ll find a reason. Probably sneaking off to the restricted section, tumbling down the moving staircase, or perhaps someone will hex you. Probably me.”

“I promise I’ll try not to get injured.”

“You’ll stroll right up to the Whomping Willow and get a concussion.”

“As long as you’re the one healing me, I’ll take any injury.”

“Oh, so you won’t mind if I hex you as long as I kiss it better?” He joked.

“If that’s the case then I highly encourage a hex under the belt.”

“Harry, you slut! What have I done to you?!” Draco exclaimed, intentionally overdramatic. “You wank one time and now you’re addicted.” He huffed.

Harry laughed a while and had trouble stopping, continuing to erupt into giggles every time he made eye contact with Draco.

Draco was having the time of his life, he was sending Harry disgusted and disappointed looks. “I expected better of you, Harry.”

At every eruption of giggles, Draco felt his heart flutter. Harry was adorable, curling up slightly, eyes lighting up, smiling, giggling, his hand on his chest and his knees brought up as he laughed. It was so cute.

When Harry finally calmed down, he said, “First of all, I am not addicted. Secondly, it wasn’t even my fault that I wanked it was all your bloody fault. Third, of course I flirted with you. You gave me an opening, so I’m going to take it. Fourth, you’re cute. Get used to my flirting now because it seems it’s going to continue for years to come. I’ll either wax poetic or try to sleep with you. There is no in between.”

“Watch yourself, Potter. Don’t start something you can’t finish.” He warned, quite serious. “I’ve no qualms about sleeping with you.”

Harry just sat there, jaw dropped and without a clue as to a response. He blinked a few times, his cheeks turning red. He decided to play it safe and assume Draco was only kidding, so he responded with a sort of joke. “Well I’m a bit more refined than the bushes.”

“We have two beds and a silencing charm.” He pointed out as he got up to unpack his bag. He planned on studying, but part of him was ready and willing to pounce on Harry if the opportunity arose.

Harry’s cheeks went even darker. Part of him was very excited to hear what he was hearing, but he also knew he was hardly sure if he was ready to be in a relationship with Draco, let alone sleep with him.

But he did have a new hope that they had a chance of being together.


	18. Monsters In The Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Most children would rather preserve the fantasy of a loving connection with their fathers and mothers, at all costs, even if it costs them their self-esteem. When you're three or seven years old, it's less frightening to think of yourself as an unlovable, disappointing screwup than to recognize the fact that you're living with a monster.”
> 
> \- Keith Ablow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In canon, Draco raises a child that he doesn’t teach to dislike non-purebloods, which disappoints his parents. I took inspiration from that for Lucius and Narcissa in this work because I didn’t want them to feel like completely different characters.

Saturday morning was anything but peaceful. Draco was pacing around, a thousand worries and scenarios running through his head.

His mother had confirmed that only she would be visiting to talk to McGonagall. So Draco was nervous about how she would feel about talking to him instead.

He spent the morning worrying to Harry, expressing his concerns and anxieties. Harry succeeded in convincing Draco that he would be alright no matter what happened.

Draco’s biggest worry was that he was going to lose his mother.

No matter what he did, his mother was always there for him. She was always the one in his corner, telling him to pursue his passions. It started with the flowers in the garden when he was a kid. He wanted to know everything about them, so on his ninth birthday, he received a large book on botany. He became interested in more than just flowers, but other plants too. He could go on and on about the different uses of the flowers in the garden. He realized plants could be used in a variety of medicines, and that encouraged him to be interested in the medical field. His eleventh birthday came, and with it, came the responsibility of the war.

His entire life was created before him. Be friends with these people, dislike those people, kill Harry Potter, marry one of these girls, have an heir, then die rich.

It was suppose to be simple, easy, and it had no room for what he wanted, so his wants were simply cast aside.

Then everything got completely derailed, and now he suddenly had a future in medicine that he made all on his own. His father didn’t give it to him, he didn’t buy it, and his family name had nothing to do with it.

“Can I tell you a secret?” Draco asked.

“Of course.”

“I never liked Quidditch. I wasn’t interested in the slightest. I only did it because my father made me. I liked plants and medicine since I was a boy. My mother was the only one who ever cared about what I wanted. Now I got it, and I got it all on my own.”

Harry was dumbfounded, “You don’t like Quidditch?!”

“Never did, and it never grew on me. I hate it.”

“But you’re so good at it.”

“Because my father wanted me to be. I never cared. It’s kind of stupid. You fly around playing with balls, scoring points, winning games, but for what? What’s the point? It’s just kind of stupid and it’s taken way too seriously. It doesn’t matter.”

Harry couldn’t believe he was hearing all this from his Quidditch rival. “I had no idea.”

“Nobody knew, except Pansy.”

“So if it had been up to you, you wouldn’t have played Quidditch all these years?”

“I wouldn’t’ve even attended the games. I probably would have spent my time in the Herbology department, maybe even having an earlier internship in the hospital wing. I just don’t care for sports.”

With that, Draco had to leave to go face his mother.

Harry had to completely reevaluate everything he had ever known about Draco.

\- - - - -

Narcissa entered Hogwarts and was escorted by a house elf to McGonagall’s office. She entered and was greeted by McGonagall, they shook hands and Narcissa took a seat.

“Is there a problem with Draco’s grades?”

“No, Mrs. Malfoy. I’m sorry to say that I lied to get you here. This isn’t about Draco’s grades. It’s about Draco himself. He wants to talk with you but he known you won't respond to his letters, is that alright?”

Of course Narcissa was upset about being lied to, but part of her had already figured it wasn’t really about Draco’s grades. She knew her son. She knew he wasn’t about to sit by and be ignored. She also knew he was smart, he wasn’t going to do bad in school.

“Yes.” She said after a bit of hesitation.

McGonagall left, and Draco stepped in.

He smiled when he saw his mother, rushing over and hugging her. She hugged him back, she seemed happy even though she didn’t smile. It was in her eyes. He knew to look for her feelings there as she’d always been a bit hardened.

“Mother, I’m sorry to have done all this but you hardly ever respond to my letters anymore.”

“I understand. A lot of your letters are thrown away if I don’t get to them first. You don’t need to be sorry, I am. I’m afraid Lucius doesn’t want much to do with you anymore. Merlin, I tried reasoning with him. I’ve tried over and over again but he won’t hear it! Your rebelling is what kept you alive and free, and that’s so much more important to me than you recognizing your status above mudbloods.”

Draco knew better than to argue with her. It was easier to just ignore the comment than to taint the memory with an argument. He’s come to realize that he doesn’t know when he’ll see his mother next, any moment with her could be their last.

“He would rather I be dead or imprisoned?”

“Apparently.” She scoffed, “The nerve of that man. Sometimes I can’t believe I married him. He really only did it for my money. I knew it but I still fell for him. You must think me a fool.”

“I don’t, no one can control their heart.”

“You would know about that, wouldn’t you?” She responded with a knowing smile.

Draco didn’t know what to say to that because his mother could be implying any number of things. Did she know he was gay, did she suspect he was, had one of his previous lovers snitched, did she think he was in love with someone at the moment?

“What do you mean?”

“Love, I’ve known you were gay since you were twelve.”

“How could you possibly have known that?”

“You came home for Christmas and amidst your complaining, you talked about Harry Potter’s eyes for a solid eight minutes.”

“Oh.” He suddenly remembered his little spiel about how gorgeous they were. “I forgot about that.”

“And now he’s your roommate.” She pointed out. “I don’t mean to pry, but Harry is of decent blood, and I never much cared for Voldemort anyways. I always preferred the idea of peace with a silent understanding of everyone’s place. In the end, Harry risked his life by telling me you were safe. That’s something I can never forget.”

He had been told that his mother lied to Voldemort about Harry being dead. Part of him still couldn’t believe it but he was very thankful that it happened. He’s proud that she chose him over Voldemort. Something his father apparently is incapable of.

“No matter what you end up doing, know I still expect an heir. But surrogacy or not, make sure the mother is of good blood. I believe one of the Abbot girls is open to working in surrogacy for couples who can’t produce, I’m certain she’ll take you on. A few Greengrass girls are in the business too.”

Draco gave a smile, “I know. You’ll have your heir. I do want kids one day. I’m actually helping to take care of Teddy Lupin, our cousin.”

“Of course, the werewolf’s son. Didn’t he end up taking after Nymphadora?”

“Yes. He’s settled on blue hair for himself.”

Narcissa cracked a smile, “Precious. It’s a good thing he has you in his life. Hopefully he’ll take after you and Harry, he needs the good influence. He needs someone to tell him all the good things about his blood, he's of the Black line after all. Oh, and his father. I know he was the only truly competent DADA professor you ever had.”

Draco nodded, “If it wasn’t for him I’d probably know nothing on the subject.”

“So, now that I’ve gotten in on your plans for your future family, I’m wondering what you’ll do for a career.” She prompted.

“I’ve actually been offered a position here. Madam Pomfrey wants to train me to take over the hospital wing after her retirement.”

Narcissa let out a laugh, “You, going into medicine? Of course you would! You always did enjoy it. I’m not surprised someone recognized your talent for it.”

“She lets me brew medicines and treat students all on my own. I’ve gotten much farther much faster than other apprentices.” His face lit up and his pitch raised a bit. It was obvious that he got excited just by talking about it.

“I’m not surprised. You ought to do what you’re good at, and you happen to enjoy it. I’m also not surprised you have the desire to work. You don’t have to, but I always knew you would. You’re too driven to sit around all day.”

“I’m likely going to be living in Scotland, somewhere. I haven’t worked out all the details yet.”

“No matter. You’re smart, you’ll figure it out.”

“I know.” He paused a moment, “How will I be able to contact you after this?”

Narcissa thought a moment, “The first of each month, besides the new year, I always go shopping around. See me then around Diagon Alley.”

Draco gave a nod and took a deep breath, “So father really wants nothing to do with me? What about yourself? He knows you lied to Voldemort and therefore gave Harry the chance to kill him, which he did.”

She shrugged, not seeming to be too concerned with it. “He’s mad, but he’ll get over it. It would be disgraceful for him to try and divorce me, and he wants access to my money, so he’s stuck.” She paused a moment before saying, “Know that I changed my will. If I die, everything I have goes to you.”

Draco’s lips parted in shock, “You can’t possibly think he’ll -?” He cut himself off, unable to finish the question.

She looked down a moment before giving a small smile. “I don’t know what he’ll do. But if he does something, he won’t gain anything from it. At least not in the monetary sense.”

Draco was getting a bit scared for his mother, but he only nodded. He was put in a daze by how his mother genuinely believed his father might try and kill her. When he was young he held his father in such a high regard. He thought his father could do no wrong. But then, as he grew up, things didn't make sense, he realized his father was completely radical, using killing curses on children, murdering without thought, his father fell from the pedestal Draco had put him on.

“Now, I should get going. I told your father I would only be gone half an hour and he’s very particular about being on time. See you next month?”

“Of course.”

They hugged and parted ways. Draco thanked McGonagall for giving him the chance to talk to his mother, but it was obvious his head was clouded over by bad news.

He felt his heart break a little. Even if Lucius didn’t make the best decisions, that was still his father. He knew his father wasn’t above murder, but he didn’t think it was possible that he could kill his own wife. He wasn’t sure what to believe, but he wanted his mother to be safe.

When he made it back to his dorm, he silently entered and sat on his bed. He stared at his lap and was overcome with the idea that his father might really try to kill his mother. Certainly he wouldn’t go that far. But then again, he had no problem cutting off his only child.

Harry noticed Draco’s state and waited a moment, expecting Draco to talk about his time with his mother. When he didn’t, Harry knew something was wrong.

“Are you alright?”

“My mother thinks my father may try to murder her for lying to Voldemort about you being dead. She just changed her will so he won’t get anything from her.”

Harry’s jaw dropped and closed his eyes. That information hit him in the gut. He felt like it would be his fault if she ended up dead. “I am so sorry.”

“Oh, don’t be. I never once thought to blame you. It was my mother’s choice and my father’s pride. Nothing to do with you, really. My father was a blind follower of Voldemort and he apparently put that above his own self-preservation and family. Good thing the Malfoy line has come down to me.”

Harry nodded, “Of course. You’re going to turn things around. Still hoping to have a kid one day?”

“Yes, my mother even recommended a few surrogates.”

“I still can’t believe wizards can do that.”

Draco rolled his eyes, finding Harry’s disbelief to be ridiculous. “We aren’t as primeval as you think.”

Harry only shrugged, “But why?” He didn't really see the point of surrogates in a small old-fashioned wizard society. It sounded misplaced.

“There are people and couples out there who want children but can’t produce one, so surrogacy has a small market. Only two or three girls at a time work as surrogates. We aren’t as uptight as you think. It also pays well, they make about sixty thousand Galleons.”

Harry's eyes widened a bit. He didn’t realize surrogates made so much money. “Wow, that’s quite a bit of money.”

Draco nodded and explained, “Imagine being pregnant for nine months and pushing out a baby that you aren’t even going to keep. It’s an incredible amount of work. But I’m going to need a surrogate to have an heir.”

Harry thought a moment about Draco being a father. He thought it was sweet that Draco wanted kids. “Do you want a child of your own or do you just want an heir?”

“I want a child of my own. It may sound backwards, but I want a little Malfoy. I’m the last of my line. I want my family name to continue. It still matters to me.”

“It doesn’t sound backwards at all. I understand it’s important to you.”

Draco turned the question around, “What about you? Do you want your own kid besides Teddy?”

Harry smiled, “I don’t know. I’ve thought about it. I love Teddy like a son, and I’ve never loved anyone like that before. But I’ve thought about having my own little one running around.”

“Oh Merlin, another Potter.” Draco groaned, rolling his eyes dramatically. “Exactly what the world needs. Another Potter running around. Are you trying to turn my life into a living hell?”

Harry smiled and let out a soft laugh at Draco. “Possibly.”

“I figured as much.”

The rest of their day went on like that. Cheap jokes and witty banter. It was lazy and happy. It took Draco’s mind off his mother and the potential danger she could be in. He needed a distraction and Harry knew that, so that’s what he focused on, keeping Draco distracted. Besides meals with their friends, they spent the weekend hanging out and had a Sunday afternoon visit to see Teddy. That’s how they were most weekends, joined at the hip.

They had no idea their friends were all gathered in the common room, talking about them, just as they had done a month ago when the subject was Dean and Seamus.


	19. The Most Beautiful Accident

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry and Draco find themselves flirting as Valentine’s Day approaches. Harry also finds himself making money moves with Hermione in order to help her secure her Valentine’s Day surprise for Ron.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first letter sent by Draco is from a poem by Nancy Boutilier, the only change being a female pronoun "her" changed to the word “your” in the last line.

Draco and Harry were both oblivious to their friends’ intentions when it all began.

It started in potions class, so it should have been obvious enough. Draco and Seamus were off collecting ingredients while Dean and Harry were looking at the potion’s steps. Seamus was up looking on a shelf while Draco was bent over in a box.

Dean looked over and let out a whistle, soft enough so only Harry noticed. Harry looked over and his eyes immediately went to Draco’s bum. He had never really noticed before, but it was pretty cute. Of course it wasn’t big or very plump, it was more of a soft curve. But his pants fit it so well, it was difficult not to get distracted.

His thighs were nice too. They were firm and muscular from all those years of riding broomsticks in Quidditch. One had to have strong thigh muscles for a sport like that as it was a lot like horseback riding and required muscles that most people don’t use in their daily life. His thighs were slightly bulging in his pants and that’s when Harry lost it. Never before had Harry felt the desire to bite another person. He was overcome with the strange desire to put his mouth on Draco’s thighs and he wasn’t quite sure why. He ended up dropping his book and he didn’t even notice when it hit the table.

“Harry? Harry. Harry. Harry!” Dean called, trying to get Harry to pay attention.

He snapped out of it with a jolt and he looked at Dean. “Huh?”

“Never mind.” Dean shook his head, knowing their friends would get a good laugh when they heard about what happened.

The next day, the roles were reversed. This time Seamus asked Draco, “Harry’s eyes are blue, right?”

Draco scoffed in response. “Blue?! Of course not! They’re green like jade Zinnia with light brown surrounding his pupil and a dark blue limbal ring.”

Seamus was taken aback. “Wow. I didn’t realize you spent so much time gazing into Harry’s eyes.”

“I don’t gaze into his eyes! It’s just something I noticed.” He’s been defensive about it ever since Ron’s comment back in October. But it made him wonder if his staring was that obvious.

That night, when Seamus was telling everyone how his undertaking in potions went, Ron agreed that Draco does gaze into Harry’s eyes often.

\- - - - -

Harry and Draco proved to be less easy to manipulate than Dean and Seamus were. They weren’t vying for physical affection like Dean and Seamus did. They were still too shy and new in their crushes for it.

Instead, they found ways around physical affection. Like when their friends tried to take up all the room on the couches so Draco and Harry might sit on one another’s lap. They instead figured that one of them could sit on the couch cushion and the other could sit on the armrest.

Rather than playing at a physical angle, they had to play emotionally.

At first it started as casual comments: “Hey Harry, I’ve noticed Draco staring at you a lot.”, “Draco, are you and Harry dating? Cause he talks about you a lot.”, “Still waxing poetic about Draco? I’ll never forget the look on his face when he got that Howler.”

The Howler had given them another idea. If they could convince one to start up their Howler game again, maybe it’ll push them together.

After a long night of discussing all the ways it could go wrong or right, they realized the pros outweighed the cons dramatically. They decided their best bet would be to get Pansy to play to Draco’s competitive nature to get it started again. She suggested it considering Harry would be too oblivious to manipulate but Draco couldn’t stand the thought of losing. Especially losing to Harry. Some things don't change.

\- - - - -

One day, while studying with Draco, Pansy spontaneously busted out laughing. Draco was confused since there was nothing funny about their charms homework.

“Sorry, I just remembered your face when Harry sent you that Howler. He hardly bat an eye when you sent one to him, but all it took was one little Howler from Harry and suddenly your so embarrassed that you don’t even try to bite back. I know you’re good now, but I didn’t realize Harry has you whipped.” She explained with a playful smirk.

“I am not whipped! And I could have responded but I chose not to because it was only a joke.” He defended himself, trying to deflect the idea that he lost to Harry.

“I doubt you could have come up with something better than what Harry did. He practically wrote you a poem and you told him his eyes are lovely.”

“Well it’s a little hard to get flustered over a complement when a piece of parchment is saying it.”

Pansy smiled, she knew she had Draco exactly where she wanted him. “I’m just saying, I really thought you could do better than that. I thought you were just warming up, you know. I was under the impression that you would eventually embarrass Harry and come out victorious. But I suppose if Harry is just a better flirt than yo-“

“He is not a better flirt!” Draco wouldn’t stand for his own best friend saying he lost to Harry.

“Really?” She asked, “Because it seems like he is. He wrote one Howler and you hide your face in the table and can’t come up with the balls to respond. You lost Draco.”

“No! It isn’t over yet! I’ll show him.” Draco grumbled, “Embarrassing me in front of the entire school, I’ll teach him not to flirt with me.”

Pansy couldn’t believe how stupid Draco was. “Are you going to use a regular letter?”

“Yea, I ought to skip on the Howler. That stupid git.”

Part of Pansy couldn’t believe that Draco actually fell for it. Love might be blind, but today, she learned that love is also a dumbass.

\- - - - -

The next day, everyone had breakfast as normal. Until the mail came through.

Harry got a letter from Draco. That sort of confused him because he wasn’t sure what Draco felt he had to write down and mail to his own roommate.

He looked up at Draco from his seat and found he blonde was smirking at him. This made him a bit nervous because he knew Draco was up to something.

Harry hesitated and began to open the letter, until Seamus busted out laughing. He looked over and found Dean nudging him to get him to shut up.

“What?” Harry asked.

“Nothing, I just told him a joke.” Dean covered for him. Really, Seamus laughed because he was excited about Harry and Draco finally flirting with each other again.

Harry went back to opening the letter. He pulled it out and read it.

_‘It was recently brought to my attention that after our fiasco with the Howlers, my dear friend Pansy considered my lack of response as a loss. Therefore, I’ve decided to try again until I’ve won. I’ve chosen to use a typical letter rather than a Howler, as having a complement given via parchment for all to hear ruins it a bit.’_

He looked up at Draco again, a bit sheepish already. But Draco knew he hadn’t finished reading the letter. He motioned for Harry to continue.

Harry looked back down.

_‘lowlands to highs_  
_no field, no forest, no leaf, no blade_  
_can catch the light or trap the shade;_  
_no earthly tones will ever rise_  
_to match the green_  
_enchantment_  
_of your eyes.’_

Harry blinked a few times and put the letter down. He was clearly flustered. He found the poem quite flattering. He didn’t think his eyes were that significant. He'd received a few complements on them but they were mostly comparing his eyes to his mother's. He found himself with a small smile and a light blush, staring down at the table. The poem obviously worked. He couldn’t believe what was happening, Draco wanted to flirt with him, competitively.

Harry was up for the challenge. He looked back at Draco with determination in his eyes, challenge accepted.

Draco swelled with pride at how flustered Harry had been. He was proud that his writing had that effect. He was worried it wasn’t up to par with what Harry can do, but now, he was confident.

\- - - - -

The next morning, Draco received a letter. Once it was in his hands, all his confidence shattered. He remembered the pure poetry he was sent last time, and now he’s gotten even more. He was somewhat trepidatious since he already knew it would be beautiful. But he was also excited by the idea of Harry flirting with him.

_‘I wish I could compare your eyes to the ocean or a cool lake, but the water only pales in comparison to you._  
_I wish I could compare your hair to the golden rays of the sun, but it’s warmth is something cold next to you._  
_I wish I could compare your lips to the pink of a rose, but the color is bland and rough to your softness._  
_I wish I could compare your body to a statue of ideal beauty, but the Greeks, the Italians, this whole world knew nothing of beauty before you arrived._  
_I wish I could compare you to sugar or honey, but nothing will ever taste as pure and sweet._  
_I can’t tell you what you are like, but I can spend hours telling you what you aren’t._  
_I so desperately wish I could compare you to everything in this world that is good, beautiful, and joyous, but nothing will ever compare to you.’_

Draco was biting his lip and his cheeks were pink. He looked up at Harry, who had the audacity to wink at him. Draco wanted to walk straight out of the Great Hall. He couldn’t believe Harry thought all this about him. Did he? Or were these words completely meaningless to him.

He took a moment to wonder if Harry's words had any meaning to him, or if it was all just a game to him.

He couldn’t help but to ask later. Yesterday they silently agreed not to discuss the letters with each other. But Draco couldn’t help himself.

“Did you mean all this?” He asked, holding up the letter.

Harry looked up from his charms homework and nodded, “I meant every word of it. I mean what I write and I write what I mean.”

“Even now you sound a bit poetic.”

“Sorry, it happens when the mood strikes.”

Draco sat down on his bed, reading the letter over and over again. He found himself wondering about his own eye color, hair color, touching his lips and glancing down at his clothed body. The letter was so genuine that it made him question his previous opinions of his own appearance.

Harry noticed this and found himself smirking, but he was also a bit embarrassed since he was the one who wrote it. “I really liked yours, the poem you made for me. I uh ..... I really liked it.” He didn’t mean to sound shy, but he did.

Draco chuckled, “Thank you. You’re eyes are just, very beautiful.” He confessed. “But the things you write about me ..... how? You just look at me and .....” he trailed off, unsure of how to finish the sentence. He didn’t understand how Harry wrote such beautiful things about him.

“And I’m inspired.” Harry finished it for him. “I’m inspired by your beauty. You’re so beautiful Draco, you are now and you always will be, I suspect you’ll only grow more charming with age. I only wish to see you when your smile gives you laughter lines and when your eyes are wise with age. You’ll still be so beautiful, Draco. So beautiful and warm.”

Draco’s heart swelled and his face went red. His lips parted in slight shock. He had no idea how to respond to a complement like that, so he uttered a quick, “Thank you.” When the fuck did Harry become so clever?!

Part of him almost wanted to cry because he had never felt so loved before. Something about it was so pure and raw, it was so real. He wanted to pour his heart out and crawl into Harry’s arms. He wanted to lay with him and talk for hours on end. He would sit in silence with him forever. For the first time in his life, he was afraid to die because he didn’t want to be without Harry. Not for a second. He wanted to pick up every broken piece of Harry and put him back together.

He realized that he wanted Harry for so much more than his body. He wanted everything. He wanted to be selfish. He wanted all of Harry and he wanted it so bad.

He closed his eyes and his chest ached. But he pushed it all aside.

“I’m headed to the hospital wing, I’ll see you later.” He quickly left.

Harry felt like a complete fucking idiot. He pulled out the map, desperate for help. “I’m a dumbass and I need your help. I fucked up. I completely fucked up. I fucked up in ways that I didn’t even know I could fuck up.”

_‘Are you alright? What happened? - Prongs’_

James felt like his moment had finally come. The father-son moment where he would listen to Harry’s problem and give him amazing advice.

“I accidentally wrote a poem about how beautiful Draco is, and then when I was talking to him I accidentally went off on a tangent about how beautiful he is, and I think I accidentally flirted with him and I’m such a fucking mess I don’t know what to do.”

James had absolutely no advice for Harry.

 _‘How the hell do you accidentally do all of that? - Padfoot’_  
_‘What did the poem say? - Moony’_

“Well. I told him that oceans and lakes are nothing to the blue in his eyes, that roses are nothing to the soft pink of his lips, that he makes the sun cold, that statues of ideal beauty were made by people who knew nothing of beauty because they never knew him, that sugar and honey aren’t as sweet as him, and that the world is bland and cold and nothing is beautiful or joyous because he outdoes everything good in this world.”

_‘What kind of an accident is that?! That’s the most beautiful accident I’ve ever heard of! How the fuck did you even do that? - Padfoot’_

“I stared at him for a few minutes and wrote out my observations.”

James saw his opportunity and he went for it.

 _‘Ah, I see you’ve taken after your father, James. He was quite the romantic. - Prongs’_  
_‘No he wasn’t, Prongs shut the fuck up. - Padfoot’_  
_‘Don’t say fuck in front of a child. - Prongs’_  
_‘You just did! - Padfoot’_  
_‘Alright, both of you shut up! Harry’s an adult, treat him like one. Harry, that is the most incredible accident I’ve ever heard of and I have absolutely no idea how to help you. You said you also went on a tangent about his beauty, what did you tell him? - Moony’_

__

Prongs was making Harry question their identities even more intently. They were starting to really convince him that they might be his father, Sirius, and Remus.

“Well, I said that I’m inspired by his beauty, that he always has been and always will be beautiful. I said that I hope to see the day his eyes wisen with time and when his smile gives him laughter lines because he’ll only get more charming with age. Merlin I think I fell for him.”

 _‘Oh we’re well past that! I could’ve told you last month that you’ve fallen for him. It’s quite obvious that he likes you! You two are killing me and I’m already dead. - Padfoot’_  
_‘He’s right, Harry. You two really like each other. As much as I’d hate to admit it, you might want to consider asking him out. - Prongs’_

It sounded to simple when they told him to do it. He wanted to, he wanted to bad to ask Draco out. But he wasn’t sure if he could.

“I really like him. I’ve never liked anyone this much before and I don’t want to get together only for everything to get messed up and we both end up hurt.”

_‘Would you rather be able to say that you took a chance with him and had him for a little while, or would you rather watch him move on and be with someone else? - Moony’_

“I’d rather have him. I get what you’re saying. But, what if we break up and don’t speak to each other anymore? I’d rather have him in my life in any way that I can than risk messing it all up and losing him.”

_‘It’s a risk you have to take. I took the same one when I was your age. My wife. She’s the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. Back then, I used to annoy her all the time to get her attention. But then I realized that even though I was getting attention, it wasn’t the attention that I wanted. So I tried being her friend. It was amazing, I loved every second I was with her. But I was selfish, I still wanted more. But I was scared, I didn’t want to lose her. So I decided to leave it to fate. I’d take a chance and if it was meant to be then it would be. I married her, died for her, and now I still have her in my arms. I was never the most charming or good-looking bastard. I still don’t know what she sees in me or why she loves me, but she does. It doesn’t have to make sense or feel easy. It’s okay to be afraid. But it’s never okay to let fear keep you from what you want. If you want something, go after it, always. Life is too short, there’s no time for regrets, and any other way of living isn’t worth it. - Prongs’_

“Well thank Merlin I’m charming and good-looking.” Harry threw out without even thinking. He wasn’t sure why he was so sarcastic, but he was.

_‘When you die, I’ll be up here waiting for you punk. - Prongs’_

Harry rolled his eyes, “Right.”

_‘Don’t you roll your eyes at me! I can’t see you but I can hear it in your voice! - Prongs’_

“Sorry.” Harry cringed a bit. He didn’t like when adults shouted at him. Although he couldn’t hear it, he felt it in the way he read Prongs’ words.

_‘It’s alright Harry, I was just joking. But you have to take your chance. - Prongs’_

“I know.” He sighed, “I’ll try to. I just, I don’t want to just spring it on him. I want to build up to it. I want to wait for the right moment.”

_‘I need you to promise me you’ll ask him before you graduate Harry. - Padfoot’_

“Fine, I promise.”

Harry eventually had to put the map away, but he felt better now that he’d talked with his mysterious friends.

He went out into the common room and found his friends all gathered together at their usual spot on the three couches.

He sat down and stared at the ground a moment.

“Are you alright, Harry?” Luna asked.

“I think I love Draco.” He blurted out.

“Fucking finally!” Ron nearly shouted.

Harry looked up, surprised.

“You’ve been pining over him for months now! Finally!” He was so happy he nearly sobbed out his words.

Harry frowned, “Were we really that bad?” He knew they were a bit obvious, but he didn’t think it was that bad.

Neville nodded, “You made Dean and Seamus finally understand how bad they were.”

“Merlin.” Harry whined, “Well I hope you lot are happy now. I admit it, I might love him.” He still wasn’t completely sure. The feelings have been stirring inside him since October, three months later he still couldn’t say for sure, all he knew was that he wanted Draco.

“So, when are you gonna ask him out?” Hermione asked.

“I don’t know. But I will eventually.”

“Valentine’s Day is Thursday, why not then?” Dean suggested.

“Thursday? Thursday is tomorrow, Dean.” He pointed out and he then decided to ignore the fact that Dean’s eyes widened at the realization that Valentine’s Day is only tomorrow. He must have forgot. "That's a bit too soon for me. I need to think it over first."

“Oh, Harry! I just remembered, I wanted to talk with you about our DADA class, there’s this thing that I don’t quite understand.” Hermione said, grabbing Harry hand and pulling him away.

Something was obviously wrong.

Harry followed her without question as he was dragged over to the other side of the common room. “What’s wrong?”

“I forgot tomorrow is Valentine’s Day.” She sounded stressed and looked concerned. Harry was immediately ready to help.

“Alright then, what can I do to help?”

“There’s this gift I want to give Ron, but it’s a big expensive.”

“What is it?”

“The down payment on our own house.”

Harry’s face lit up, “Hermione, that’s amazing! I’m so happy for you too!”

“Well, I found it and I really like it. It’s small, quaint, not too far from his family. He likes it too but we didn’t have the money to secure it. I talked with the landlady and she said she’ll give me a bit of time. I was hoping to do it on Valentine’s Day but I got caught up with school.”

“What do you need me to do?”

“Help me melt some Galleons, sell the gold, buy silver, get it minted to Sickles, and turned to more Galleons.”

Harry glanced up at a clock. “If we go now we can have the money by tomorrow morning.”

They raced off. Because they weren’t sure how many Galleons they would end up with, they decided to withdraw ten thousand each. They melt it and traded it for silver in the Muggle economy. They had a few pawn shops and jewelry stores that were always eager to exchange with them. They missed dinner to finish trading it all, then they melted all the silver. That gave them a break to finally eat something. It also gave them a moment to briefly question the morality of what they were doing. Were they really going to keep quiet about how easy it is to get rich? Yes, it seemed they were going to take their secret to the grave.

They then handed over their silver to the bank to be minted into Sickles and then exchanged for Galleons.

They finally got back to Hogwarts and they looked like hell. They were tired from all their running around, covered in soot from melting the gold and silver, and their brains were fried from all the math they had done in their exchanges of gold to silver.

They also realized it was well past sundown and they were probably going to be in trouble if they got caught.

They each snuck into their rooms and felt like they had succeeded in their meddling.

Harry very quietly opened the door to his room, crept inside, and shut it without making a sound.

“Where have you been?”

“AGH!” The most undignified and shrill yelp stole from Harry’s throat at the sound of Draco’s voice.

Draco laughed and Harry covered his own mouth, shocked by the sound it made.

“Why are you covered in soot? What have you been up to, sweeping chimney’s?”

Harry huffed at the comment. “No. I was with Hermione.”

“You were sweeping chimney’s together?”

“No, we were just doing stuff.”

“My, doing stuff with your best mate’s girl. I’m disappointed in you, Harry.” Draco joked with a fake disdain for Harry’s actions.

Harry gave an unamused glare. “First of all, I would never. Secondly, we were melting gold and silver.” Perhaps their secret wouldn’t go to the grave with them, but Harry definitely wasn’t going into detail with it.

“Why?”

“To trade. We melt Galleons, trade it for cheap silver in the Muggle economy, melt the silver, have it minted into Sickles, and trade the Sickles for Galleons.” Perhaps he was going into detail with it.

Draco was a bit surprised at how they manipulated the economy like that. “Is that even legal?”

“Doesn’t matter if you don’t get caught. She needed the money for Ron’s Valentine’s Day present.”

“And what could be so expensive that you two would go off and break the law.”

Harry actually let out a laugh. “We’ve broken the law for much less. We aren’t as righteous as everyone thinks we are. The present is a down payment on a house they like.”

“Oh, that’s wonderful! I’m so happy for them." He looked Harry up and down. "You’re absolutely covered in soot. It only makes your eyes brighter though.” He winked.

Harry looked away and crossed his arms. “Shut up about my eyes, Draco. It’s embarrassing. I just want to shower.”

He pulled his clothes off until he was only in his jeans. He grabbed his pajamas and a towel, heading into the bathroom.

Draco watched him, he couldn’t help it. He had a refined taste and he knew when he saw something pretty.

Harry showered and came out in only his pajama pants. His torso was still damp and he hadn’t shaved his face in a few days.

Draco bit his lip and his eyes widened some. He immediately started writing his next letter to Harry, suddenly full of inspiration.

Harry finished drying off and then he laid on his bed with a groan. He was tired and melting metals isn’t easy. He shifted some and sighed, he didn’t realize he was in pain until he relaxed. His spine was overwhelmed with the feeling of finally being able to relax. He sank down into the bed and groaned again when he heard his hip pop. “Draco, what do you have in the hospital wing for muscle pains?”

“Well I could always give you another massage.”

“No!” His response was quick. “I’m loud and it’s embarrassing.”

Draco chuckled, “It’s cute.”

“It is not, I’m not cute. I’m tough.”

Draco laughed at this. “Sure you are, Harry. Sure you are.” He smirked, “Do you really not want a massage.”

“I don’t want you giving me more boners.”

Draco rolled his eyes and grinned at Harry. “Fine, but know that I usually don’t do it on purpose. I can’t help my beauty.”

“I think these letters need to stop because they only seem to stroke your ego.”

“You could always strok-“

“Don’t you dare finish that sentence. Don’t even think about it.”

Draco smirked and sat up. “Alright then, what can I do to make you feel better?”

“Make me stop hurting.”

“Well orgasms c-“

“No, Draco. You absolute slut.”

“I can’t help what I am.”

“You need an outlet.”

“I think you would work perfectly!” Draco winked.

Harry looked unamused at first, but then chose to go along with it. “Well I had better get paid well or something for my services.”

“I could pay you in pleasures.” Draco said nonchalantly, “I’m not a selfish lover, I would love to see how loud you really get.”

That comment went straight between Harry’s legs. He twitched in his pants and then sat up, getting under his duvet. “That is highly inappropriate.”

“Maybe, but you liked it.”

“Did not.”

“I saw your dick twitch, you’re pretty well endowed and you don’t wear underwear to bed, it’s hard to miss.” He said it as if it was a completely casual thing to say.

Harry’s face went red. “I’m sorry if that made you uncomfortable or if you saw something you didn’t want to see, I really don’t mean to be indecent.”

Draco gave a soft smile. He found it a bit charming how Harry put Draco’s comfort before his own. “It’s alright, no need to apologize. I was the one looking, but it is hard to miss.” He winked.

He looked annoyed. “You really need to consider finding an outlet to take all out on.”

“I tried to, but you declined.”

“That’s it, I’m going to bed. Goodnight Draco.”

“Goodnight Harry.” Draco decided he would join Harry in a few more minutes. But instead, he fell asleep with a book in his hands shortly after Harry drifted off.


	20. Valentine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry receives another letter from Draco and they spend Valentine’s Day together. Draco discovers he needs to teach Harry to relax.

Draco woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of moaning. The moans were low and long, occasionally shaking, accompanied by gasps and needy whimpers.

He sat straight up to identify the sound. His eyes went to Harry, who was fast asleep, and rubbing himself against his mattress.

Draco gave a lazy smirk and watched a moment, suddenly very awake. Harry’s back was arched and his hips were slow and steady. The sights and sounds made Draco shift around, suddenly uncomfortable in his pants. He watched Harry furrowing his eyebrows, lips parted, with his hands gripping his pillow.

“Mmm, hm.” Harry moaned softly into his pillow. It was whiny and desperate. He was softly panting and his hips went a bit faster, every exhale was a soft grunt. Even in his sleep he couldn’t stay quiet. It was too easy to give in.

Draco quickly and quietly cast a silencing charm on the room so no one else would be disturbed. He then laid back down and tried to fall back asleep.

It was so much more difficult than he expected.

He laid there a minute longer and then he heard silence. He raised an eyebrow and then heard Harry saying, “Shit, not again.” In a groggy and tired voice.

He just woke up.

Harry hesitantly reached down and cupped himself so he’d have better friction than just the sheets. He dragged his hips across his hand as quickly as he could and trembled at the pleasure. The moans started up again, this time a bit muffled. He was trying so hard to be quiet but he also wanted to hurry up and finish. The faster pace made him louder than before. He moaned out into his pillow and he briefly worried about whether or not Draco could hear him. That was a huge mistake.

He usually didn’t fantasize when he got off, he just did it as quickly and quietly as possible. He never took the time to enjoy it. But now that his crush has entered his mind, his brain focused on it.

Draco’s beautiful hair, eyes, body, voice, his natural elegance and charm. He moaned a bit louder and his grip on his pillow tightened. He began panting as he thought of Draco. He wished it was Draco’s hand he was rutting against instead of his own. He wished he was with Draco in his bed. He wanted to say Draco’s name instead of the mindless whimpers and groans, but he couldn’t take that risk.

He wished it was Draco’s hand he was rutting against, he wished it was Draco that would give him - no, _make_ him have his orgasm. He felt like his desires were disgusting. They probably were, but he didn’t care. He wanted Draco to make him cum. His mind went to all the possibilities that Draco’s knowledge of kinky spells could bring. He had a twisted fantasy playing in his head. One where Draco uses magic because Harry needs to learn to relax, and pleasure is the best way to do it. One where he brings himself to cum against his friend’s hand.

He trembled and writhed, feeling completely overwhelmed by the pleasure. He tightened his grip on his pillow and then his hand began to search for purchase on his sheets. His cries became louder and all he could do to stay silent was letting out pathetic whimpers and sobs in place of something louder. His back arched and he turned his face to the side, pressing his cheek into the pillow. His knees bent and his legs spread, allowing himself a better angle so he could move his hips faster and grind down harder. He accidentally let out a soft cry. He felt his thighs and lower stomach begin to quiver as he was able to go faster and harder.

Then, he remembered Draco's thighs. He felt like a filthy idiot for letting his mind go back to it. "Fuck." He gasped as he let his mind go back to potions class when Draco was bent over and Harry had his eyes on Draco's thighs. He didn't even know thighs were something that could attract him to much, yet here he was. He groaned out and began panting while the thought of Draco made him squirm.

Draco’s jaw dropped at the lewd noises he heard. He tried to think of any and every thing that might kill his boner. But Harry’s noises were just too distracting.

“Yes!” The word came out as a broken sob and Draco nearly lost it.

Harry body quivered as it was overcome with pleasure and he was a shaking mess when he finally came in his pants. His hips stuttered against his hand as he leaked out into his pajamas. He accidentally let out a loud cry into his pillow, his voice becoming shaky towards the end. Soft pants took over his voice as he calmed down. Part of him wanted to call out Draco's name while he came, but he held back. He couldn't be so stupid and take a risk like that. But he had to satisfy his urge. He sighed out a soft “Draco”. It was just quiet enough that the blonde couldn’t hear it. Harry’s face flushed in his shame as he realized he really just wanked to the thought of his best friend. He felt pitiful, he felt hopeless, he felt dirty, he felt like a fool. But most of all, he still wanted it.

Draco finally thought of enough fucked up things to kill his boner, and with that, they were both drifting back to sleep.

That morning, the mail came again as usual. This time, Hermione and Harry both got letters from the bank, telling them about how many Galleons they got from their transaction. They each gained a little over 47,000.

Hermione closed her eyes and a smile broke onto her face. “Merlin, I have enough. It’s enough.” She whispered to herself. She planned to go talk to the landlady during lunch to get everything settled, and surprise Ron that evening.

Harry was just happy for Ron and Hermione. They were getting their futures together, they were getting a house, it was something they wouldn’t have thought possible just a few years ago. He was overjoyed for them and couldn’t wait to see Ron’s face when he finds out the news.

Then, he opened the letter from Draco.

Slytherins are known for being sly, cunning, ambitious, and charming. It's really the ambition that gets students sorted into Slytherin. Their ambition truly is something else. It's strong and unrelenting, so much so that they develop a sly and cunning nature in order to get what they want. Sometimes what they want is power, other times it's world peace. Slytherin aren't bad, just willing to do whatever it takes to get what they want, regardless of consequences or repercussions. The charm of Slytherin comes with their sly and cunning nature. They learn that charming others is just as good as manipulating them.

It seems Draco had forgotten about his cunning nature and skills in charming others to get what he wants. But now he had a plan. A sly and manipulative plan, but he was going to do whatever he had to do to make Harry want him as much more than a friend, and then, he would go in for the taking.

Harry had also forgotten about the charm of Slytherins, but he was about to be reminded.

_’I was awoken last night by the most beautiful sounds. Strong, full, soft, quaking, unsure, debauched, a sweet music that not even my most carnal dreams could replicate. It radiated through the room, bouncing off the walls and drenching me in your passion. It was so scandalous to hear the golden boy moaning like that. It was disgraceful and tragic, but it was lovely and good. I was enchanted by your descent into lust. I never knew something so vivid and rich until I knew the raw honey of you. The way you squirmed and trembled in the face of a bliss so sweet and pure was something spiritual that shook my soul and washed it with your innocence. It was glorious. The way your virtue showed itself to me made me breathless. So bright and new to such a sinful act that it compelled my wicked heart to bask in the light of yours. To witness your wide-eyed and blameless spirit be touched by an unholy hand that was your own, it was an honor. There was something so wholesome about your fall from grace. It was freeing to see someone so angelic indulging in such lechery, releasing me from the chains that tethered me to my old ignorance of what beauty is. It was a force of nature and I was transformed by your storm. I was moved by your display. I've never felt such a guilty thrill and I relished every shiver. I'll never forget that sacred night.’_

Harry’s jaw dropped and his face was red. He looked up at Draco who was smirking away and biting his lip.

Harry then noticed that he was a bit uncomfortable in his pants.

Draco’s letter charmed him to half-mast. He finally broke eye contact with Draco and he just stared down at his food with unblinking eyes. He shoved the letter into his pocket and silently ate his food. He couldn’t believe he got caught. But even more so, he couldn’t believe how much Draco enjoyed catching him masturbate.

\- - - - -

Just after lunch, Hermione surprised Ron with the down payment for their house. Ron didn’t even question how she got the money, he just celebrated with her and they even shed a few tears. They deserved to build a home together and everyone was ecstatic for them.

Harry was still trying to figure out how to respond to Draco’s letter. Of course he was mortified that he had been caught masturbating, but he was also stuck on the letter itself. Draco spoke about seeing Harry getting off as if Harry was some soft of angelic and pure being, as if Harry was untouchable and without sin, and as if his transformation from righteous to lustful, his fall from grace, was alluring.

It all came to a head after lunch and before their afternoon class.

He went into his dorm and saw Draco there.

“You heard me last night? All of it?”

“Mostly, yes.” Draco confessed.

Harry nodded, “Right. Well ..... I wanted to say I’m sorry about that. It really rarely ever happens.”

“It’s no problem. Happens to the best of us.” An apology wasn’t how Draco thought Harry would respond to his letter. He figured it would either spark a conversation about their feelings, lead to sex, or at the very least, make Harry a coy and blushing mess around him. Now he was facing an unforeseen forth option where Harry is an apologetic gentleman. Somehow, it was still sexy.

“I suppose I’m just not as stressed as I usually am, I need to work on that and find more things to do.”

That was the exact opposite of how Draco thought Harry was going to continue the conversation. “Wait, what?”

Harry elaborated, “Well, when I’m stressed and busy, my body doesn’t pull shit like that. So I can only take it as a sign that I need to get my stress levels up.”

“No. No, no, no, no. Why would you want more stress?”

“I’ve been stressed ever since I was given away to the Dursley’s. Being stressed and vigilant is what kept me alive my entire life. I already finished reading the restricted section of the library so I don’t have that. I suppose I could delve into my future lesson plans for when I teach, but I'm almost finished. If I dive into it then I might finish it all in a day or two. I suppose I could try getting ahead in my classes, but if I get too far ahead of the lectures then I could run out of classwork.” Harry pondered his dilemma aloud.

Draco listened with a dropped jaw. He spoke up when Harry finished. “Alright, I see the problem here. You’re associating stress with survival. But you don’t need to anymore. You’re alright. No one is trying to kill or hurt you, you’re going to live a peaceful life as a professor at Hogwarts, your home.”

Harry blinked a few times, knowing Draco was right. “I know. I know I don’t have to be stressed. But I suppose I’m just so used to it that I haven’t gotten comfortable with the idea of relaxing yet. I wish I didn’t have to.”

“I know, but you can’t live like that. You need to relax. You’ll end up miserable, even dead if you keep stressing yourself.”

“How am I suppose to start relaxing?”

“You can start by getting used to not doing as much work.”

“I’ve been trying to.” Harry huffed and sat down on his bed. “This is the first year I haven’t had to balance schoolwork and people trying to murder me. School’s never been easier. There’s so much less to do already. I tried to fill it with looking through my parent’s old stuff, scheming to set up our friends, and then planning for the future. But now I’m running out of things to do.”

“So relax for the rest of your time here. I mean it, relax. Just let go.” Draco glanced at the time. “Come on, we’ll be late for transfigurations if we don’t get going. I’ll help you relax after dinner.”

Harry rolled his eyes, still not completely on board with Draco’s plan, but Draco had already made up his mind.

After class, Harry went to Hogsmeade. There was something he needed to get done.

When he returned, he was careful to hide what he had gotten in his robes. He hid it under his bed and then went out to meet the rest of his friends in the Great Hall as he accidentally stayed out too long and was late. But in his defense, he was out making very important decisions.

He had been out to a florist to get flowers for Draco. As stupid as it sounded, he wanted to do something for Valentine’s Day and the florist there was a witch he knew well. During the Battle of Hogwarts, Harry had pushed her younger brother out of the way of a killing curse. She was willing to get flowers from anywhere in the world for him. That way, Harry’s choices weren’t limited by location, only season. Thankfully, some very beautiful flowers bloom in February.

While he was out, he also perform a bit of an experiment. He plucked a flower and hid behind a building. He mumbled an incantation to himself, he was pushed into his past trauma, and the flower died in his hands in about ten seconds. Harry took it as a good thing. Last time, the flower died in under five. Harry took it as a sign of his life improving.

He talked and laughed with his friends for the rest of dinner before he had to go back to his dorm and face Draco. He was wondering which would prove more difficult, giving him a bouquet of flowers or relaxing. Probably relaxing.

He bit his lip, chewing it nervously as he entered their dorm. He waited for Draco to arrive, which didn’t take more than a minute. While he was waiting, he went ahead and changed into his pajamas.

Draco saw how nervous Harry was when he entered and tilted his head. “Are you that unhinged by the thought of relaxing?” If it genuinely made Harry uncomfortable, he would back off a bit.

Harry shook his head. “No, uh. I got you something.” He reached under his bed and pulled out the bouquet. “I uh, it’s for Valentine’s Day.” He said softly, giving Draco the flowers.

“Harry, this is gorgeous!”

Burgundy Calla Lillies, red Ranunculuses, pale pink Lisianthuses, all accented by a few pieces of Dusty Millers on the outside. Draco could recognize each and every flower. It was striking and gorgeous.

“I love it.” Draco said, conjuring up a vase and putting the flowers in it. “Thank you, Harry.”

Harry gave a shy smile, both of their hearts swelled by the gesture. But neither of them said anything about it.

Draco was grinning over the fact that Harry bought him flowers for Valentine’s Day. He felt so giddy and excited. He decided to take a bit of a risk and said, “I suppose this makes you my Valentine.”

Harry let out a chuckle and nodded. “I guess it does.”

Draco felt his heart flutter but he knew he needed to calm down. He was head over heels for the boy in front of him and it killed him that he couldn’t say anything.

“Alright then. Turn the radio on, you’re going to relax.” He demanded.

Harry whined but relented, turning on the radio and setting it to a station he liked.

He sat down on his bed. “There, see, I’m relaxing.”

Draco rolled his eyes. “Lay down.”

“Why?”

“Because I want you completely relaxed.”

Harry laid down and looked up at Draco, a bit nervous.

“Alright, I know a few spel-“

“Draco, if you try to tell me there are sexy spells again, I’m jumping out the window.”

Draco rolled his eyes. “No, I was going to suggest other adult spells.”

“So that’s what we’re calling them now? Adult spells?”

“Shut up before I do use one.” He threatened, but they both knew he wouldn’t really do it. “I was going to suggest other spells. There are ones to relax muscles, or I could just make you cum in your pants. It’s up to you.”

Harry blushed darkly and looked away. “That’s the strangest threat I’ve ever received in my life.”

“Harry, that was a promise.” He corrected. “But if _that_ was the strangest threat you’ve ever received then you must have a boring love life.”

“Somehow I don’t doubt you.”

“Good.”

Harry thought a moment but soon realized he didn’t want to choose. He was embarrassed. So he only shrugged and said, “Do anything, I don’t care.”

Draco took out his wand. He thought a moment and then cast a spell that Harry didn’t recognize.

Harry gasped when he felt the blanket under him heat up. It got very warm, but it wasn’t hot.

“Get under the duvet.” Draco ordered and Harry did as he was told.

“This’ll just make me fall asleep.” He said as he shifted around under the blanket, trying to discreetly snuggle into it.

“No it won’t, trust me.” Draco noticed that Harry was snuggling up under the blanket, but decided not to comment on it since he could also tell that Harry was trying to be discreet about it.

He cast another unrecognizable spell, and this time, Harry let out a soft cry as all his muscles relaxed. He felt limp on the bed. “Shit.” He groaned, embarrassed by how well it was working. It almost felt like an orgasm, but not quite.

Draco chuckled at the familiar noises, but decided not to comment on it. “Relaxed?”

“Extremely.” Harry mumbled.

Draco felt pretty proud of himself, and he was still a bit giddy that Harry was officially his Valentine and got him flowers.

Harry gave up. He felt warm and fuzzy, and Hozier’s hypnotically sexy voice was pouring from the radio. Perhaps you can force someone to relax. He weakly pulled back the covers and said, “Come on then, lay down with me.”

“What?” Draco chuckled, a bit surprised by Harry’s request.

“It’s Valentine’s Day. Lay with me.” Harry felt very strange. It was as if his heart was swelling, but it also hurt. He wanted to be with Draco, but he wasn’t sure that being with him was an option. He wanted it, he wanted it so bad. But part of him felt like he’d never be able to have Draco. It sucked. It hurt. He would take whatever he could get.

In that brief moment, Harry was more open and vulnerable than he had ever been with Draco. He dug his heart out of his chest and showed it to the other.

Draco silently walked over to the bed and laid down beside Harry. He wanted to wrap his arms around the boy, but he didn’t. He wasn’t sure if Harry was interested in him. But all those letters, the poetry, the complements, how close they were, it had to mean something. All those beautiful things that Harry’s told him, they all went rushing through his head. He closed his eyes as his chest tightened, the doubt and uncertainty was killing him.

They both knew their friendship wasn’t normal, but still, neither of them spoke about it. It was better to take what you can get than to risk ruining it all. But as not being together became more and more painful, they were both getting closer to taking the risk.

“Draco, your letter that you wrote. What was that?”

Finally, the conversation Draco has been waiting for. “What do you mean?”

“You wrote about me as if ..... as if .....” He trailed off and searched for the right words. “You wrote about me as if you caught the god of innocence falling victim to physical pleasure, and ..... and that his ..... my.” He blinked a few times, his mind was a bit muddled by the romantic situation they were in. “And that my ..... reactions, to pleasure were innocent. And that my momentary loss of innocence, w-was beautiful.”

Draco turned his head to look at Harry. His eyes were met with bright green ones with just a bit of brown around the pupil, dark hair and stubble, dark pink lips and a blush to match. Gorgeous.

He smirked, “I wrote it because that’s exactly how it happened. You’re a shiny virgin Harry, untouchable and pure. But there you were, giving in to your most carnal desire. The Golden Boy unable to resist temptation. It was poetic and beautiful.”

“You wrote it as if it changed your life.”

“It did.”

“How?”

“Because it was just that glorious.”

Harry was silent a moment, thinking. “I didn’t realize you saw me in that way.”

“Neither did I.”

Conversation stopped there. They both retired for the night in Harry’s bed. But even if neither of them confessed their feelings, they were forever changed.

What Draco did crossed a line. Not a bad one, but they both knew they were past the point of no return. There was no way they could continue to simply be friends after something like that. No. Draco intentionally pushed them with his letter.

Harry knew it too. He knew exactly what Draco was trying to do by the end of their conversation, and he planned on letting it happen. It was as if they both knew how the other felt but neither wanted to say anything. Still, they were getting closer and closer to their breaking point.


	21. A Friend of My Friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry gets some help from Pansy to charm Draco.

Harry and Draco spent the next few days in a bubble of charmolypi. They each considered the other to be unattainable, so close yet just out of reach. They sat so close together that they touched, they spent their nights in the same bed, they stared more often and more longingly, they sent more letters, and they noticed more and more things about the other that only furthered their admiration.

Harry noticed the blotchy pink blush that was naturally present on Draco’s cheeks, how he was significantly taller than Harry, the natural puffiness of his lips, and the hints of silver in his blue eyes.

Draco noticed Harry’s stubble, the few freckles on his face and body, the way his eyes crinkled when he smiled, and just how deep those green eyes were.

They were completely infatuated with each other.

Draco had also picked up a habit that completely bewildered Harry.

It all started a few days after Valentine’s Day, when Harry referenced Draco’s letter. “So, did you ever experience the raw honey of me?”

Draco raised an eyebrow, not even looking up from his book. “Unfortunately no, not yet.”

“Not yet?” Harry chuckled, unsure as to what the line really meant.

“Harry, when one experiences honey, multiple senses are involved. Sight, smell, touch, sound, and taste. It floods your senses and overwhelms you. I’ve had it all with you. But unfortunately, I haven’t tasted you yet.” He described it in the same posh way someone would describe an experience with a fine wine.

Harry froze, his heart flipping and his dick becoming a bit interested in the conversation. “Y-You what?”

“I haven’t tasted you yet.” He said it so casually, as if it was a perfectly normal thing to say.

“Yet?”

Draco looked up from his book and looked Harry dead in his eyes. “Yet.” He confirmed. His face was filled with his old arrogance. The look had usually been given when they would insult each other before Quidditch matches. But for the first time, Harry was excited to see it.

“Fuck.” The word tore from Harry’s throat and he didn’t even register that it came from him until a few seconds later. His cheeks were pink and he blinked a few times as he tried to regain his composure.

Draco’s smug pompousness only increased.

“I always hated that stupid expression on your face.” Insults were the only way Harry could think to regain control over the situation.

Draco only smirked. “But now it excites you.” He said matter-of-factly. His snooty pride and superiority were both shining through.

If he asked, Harry would probably pounce then and there. He didn’t understand how Draco managed to turn his old arrogance into a flirting tactic, and he was even more confused as to why it worked so well on him, but if Draco kept it up Harry might not be able to keep it down.

Draco knew exactly what he was doing and he was very proud of himself. “You look like a deer in headlights. Scared, Potter?”

Harry’s mouth was dry. He swallowed and said, “You wish, Malfoy.”

Harry doubted he would survive the rest of February.

The flirting only continued from there and it flustered Harry greatly. Nobody had ever flirted with him so openly and shamelessly before.

“Honey, can you pass me my quill?” Draco asked once during class, mostly to see if Harry would respond.

Harry didn’t even think twice at first. He just picked up Draco’s quill and handed it to him. He didn’t register what had happened until he was met with Draco’s smirk. He blushed lightly and his lips parted, surprised by himself.

“I-I don’t know why I responded to that.” He said dumbly.

Draco raised an eyebrow, “Well it’s quite simple. Because you’re sweet as honey and you know it. Alas, I’m still waiting for the day I get to see for myself.”

“Merlin!” Harry exclaimed in a harsh whisper. He looked away and hid his face.

Draco’s charm extended beyond words. He had also begun wearing less and less in front of Harry. He wasn’t strutting around naked, but he was showing off what he could. He would take off his robes, loosen his tie, and unbutton the tops of his shirts in their dorm. He used the warming weather as an excuse. But even Harry, as oblivious as he can be, suspected there was more to it than the weather.

But of course it worked on him like a charm. He would get a bit lost staring at the exposed skin just under Draco’s clavicle. He found himself yearning to put his mouth on the other and he wasn’t sure why. If anything, it freaked him out a bit how much he desired Draco. But it was beyond physical. If the only way he could be with Draco required the chastity of a nun, he would do it. Their late-night talks, jokes, the smiles they shared, studying together, laying together, just being around Draco and spending time with him was enough. But kissing and holding hands would be nice too.

His heart fluttered if he looked at Draco for too long and he found himself becoming a mess by the last week of February. He felt like he was loosing his mind.

He finally sought out help in another Slytherin.

Pansy Parkinson.

She knew Draco the best. They’ve been best friends for years and she was with him through all his highs and lows, the only one he could really trust in his youth. Harry knew that if he was going to have any luck with Draco, he would need her help.

Draco and Pansy both knew he would eventually go to her. Harry was oblivious sometimes, but not stupid. They planned ahead for it.

Draco told her all about his plan to make Harry his, and she loved it, proud to see her friend back to his old Slytherin ways but for a good purpose. She knew exactly how she needed to play Harry in order to mould him into Draco’s plan.

He approached her after lunch, seeming nervous and uncertain. “Hey Pansy. Uh, I was wondering if I could talk to you for a minute?”

“Of course. Are you alright?” She responded coolly, but in the inside she was bubbling over with excitement.

“It’s about Draco. Uh, I. I really like him.”

“Oh, I’m glad you two are getting along.”

Pansy knew they were in love with each other, but Harry didn’t know that. Really, she wanted him to explain his feelings in his own words so she would know how to proceed from there.

“I don’t just like him, as a friend. I-“ He cut himself off, a bit embarrassed to confess his feelings. “I’m in love with him. Completely, utterly, deeply, foolishly.”

“Foolishly? Why does love make you a fool?”

“It’s made me a bloody idiot! Everything he does, everything he says, it all means so much to me. He’s so charming and gorgeous, and I love being around him. I could spend the rest of my life just sitting and talking with him. Now I just blush and stutter my way around him. I don’t stutter, I never stutter, and now I suddenly can’t stop. I feel so stupid. And he flirts with me! He’s flirting and I bloody know he is. I’m not as oblivious as I was. He flirts with me all the time and I don’t know what to do. Can you please help me?”

“Well, Harry, that depends on what you want to do.” She grabbed his wrist and lead him over to a bench in the corridor so they could talk. “Harry. If you want my help, I need to know your exact intentions and feelings. For starters, are you certain that you love Draco?”

“Yes.” He didn’t even hesitate. He knew he was in love. There was no doubt.

“How do you know?”

He could say that he’s never loved someone like this, that he’s never felt this way before, or say that he just knows in his heart that he’s in love. But this was different. He knew the very moment he fell in love with Draco. “When I was a kid, I used to imagine what my future might be like. I had a thousand fantasies in my head. That was how I coped with the abuse. I thought of the future. When I realized I probably wouldn’t have a future, it killed me. When I lived anyways, thinking of the future became how I coped with loss. Even when I knew I wanted to teach DADA I still thought of all the hundreds of amazing days I’ll have here. But now, now when I think of the future I only think of one. Spending the rest of my days teaching here, _with Draco_. I don’t imagine being in the classroom teaching a new generation, I think of wandering the halls with Draco until we’re both old and senile. The future in my head with him is the happiest I’ve ever hoped for. I know I love him because through it all, _he_ is what makes me happiest, and I can’t imagine a life without him. That’s how I know I love him.”

It was the most genuine and honest answer Pansy could have hoped for.

She smiled at him. “Alright then. So I presume your intentions are to date Draco, marry him one day, and grow old and senile together?”

“Yes.”

She nearly wanted to give him a hug. She used to criticize almost all of Draco’s flings for not being good enough for him. She always told him he could do better. But now she’s certain that Harry is the only person who is worthy of her best friend.

She gave a nod. “I’ll help you.”

Everything was going according to Draco and Pansy’s plan. But of course, Pansy had a plan of her own as well. She would help Harry just as Draco wanted her to, but she also wanted to teach Harry how to flirt with and charm Draco in return. The poor virgin was in over his head with a whore like Draco, so she wanted to level the playing field a bit.

“Thank you so much Pansy, I-“

“Don’t thank me yet. I’ll help you, but we’re doing this my way. Draco is my gay best friend and I’m his main bitch. We’re close, extremely close. We’ve told each other things that we would never tell anyone else. And now that I’ve decided that to help you land Draco, I’m gonna tell you some of the things he’s trusted me with. He’s gonna hate me for it, but I don’t care.”

Now he was a bit concerned. “What sort of secrets are you about to tell me?”

“Me and Draco have always had long and extensive conversations on our future husbands, current boyfriends, and the men we want to sleep with. So, he’s told me about everything that he likes in men. From the things that make him melt, to the things that turn him on. He always made me promise never to tell a soul, but this is more important than some teenage promise.”

Harry let out a giddy laugh. He was excited that he would be able to learn about how to work Draco.

“But. Everything comes at a price.”

He paused and tilted his head.

“I’ll tell you what Draco likes, in exchange for what you like.”

Trading secrets for secrets. Pansy was going to make Harry squirm for the information he wanted. It was then that he finally realized what Pansy’s plan was.

“You’re going to tell him, aren’t you?”

Originally, Draco wanted Pansy to turn the conversation into finding out about what Harry likes. Instead, and without telling Draco, she decided she would tell Harry about what Draco likes while discovering what Harry likes.

She smirked. “Of course I am. Like I said, I’m leveling the playing field. You’ll both have an equal chance. So what do you say, Harry? What are you willing to do for the information you desire?”

Harry blushed lightly. Of course he’s had conversations with Ron about what they like in a partner, but he could tell those conversations weren’t as detailed and open as the ones between Draco and Pansy.

“Alright. I’ll do it.”

She knew he would. “For being such a good sport, I’ll even go first. Draco has a serious fixation for your eyes. He loves them. Thinks they’re so sexy. He’ll go on and on about how beautiful they are. That they’re so bright and saturated, they look pastel in the sunlight, as green as leaves in dimmer light, and about the little bit of brown around your pupil. He even said eye contact with you is sinful.”

Harry’s jaw dropped. He had no idea that Draco really thought all this about his eyes.

“I didn’t realize he liked them THAT much.”

Pansy chuckled. “He’s obsessed. Now, your turn.”

Harry bit his lip. “Uh. There’s this thing he does. He’ll walk into our dorm and he’ll just unbutton the top few buttons of his shirt, and then I can’t stop staring. It’s - I don’t know why but it’s so attractive.”

“Ah, you’re a deprived virgin, desperate for any inch of skin.” She teased. “Draco loves it when you wear his jumpers. Loves it so much he said it even turns him on a bit. He said he wants to shag you while you wear only his jumper.”

His eyes widened and he looked away, clearly embarrassed. Especially since he was wearing Draco’s jumper at the moment. “Merlin.” He mumbled.

“Your turn.”

“Alright. I like it when he dresses up really nice. Like in his blazer and dark pants. Or even when he wears a long coat and a scarf. Something about it is just really attractive.”

“Harry, he always dresses like that when he isn’t in his school uniform.”

“I know. I'm used to seeing him in his school uniform, and where I'm from, I rarely saw men dress so nicely. It's just sexy.”

She raised an eyebrow, but decided not to comment on it. Then she changed her mind and did comment on it, "One day you two might be living together. How are you suppose to live with him while he dresses up nice every day?

"My apologies, I didn't realize clothes were necessary on my part."

Pansy let out a laugh. “On the topic of you wearing clothes, he also said that he likes it when you stretch and your shirt rides up so he can see your lower abdomen.”

Harry smirked a bit, getting an idea of what he was going to do later. “I like it when he wears silk and stuff like that. He has these pajamas, I think they’re his favorite, and it’s this kind of sheer pastel blue and it looks so good on him. It matches and he looks so nice, it’s gorgeous. And then I just wear a t-shirt and whatever pajama pants to bed and I look like a mess next to him. But he looks so good.”

Pansy raised an eyebrow. “He likes when your hair is messy and your little stubbly beard. He said it makes you look wild and like you’ve just had sex. It drives him crazy.” She tilted her head. “I’m starting to think you’re attracted to how refined Draco is and Draco’s attracted to how disheveled you are.”

Harry tilted his head. It sounded like it was probably true. “Yea, you might be right about that.” He thought it was kind of funny that they acted as opposites. “When he’s reading a book and he’s really focused on it, I think it’s really hot. He’s so smart.”

“Draco said that you played with his hair once and he hasn’t forgotten it. He’ll kill me when he finds out I told you, but he’s been secretly wishing you’d do it again.”

“Okay.” He was willing to do just about anything for Draco. “I like that he’s taller than me. I used to despise it. But now I love it.”

“He also likes sitting in people’s lap or having someone sit in his lap. He doesn’t care, either way. He just loved the intimacy of it.”

“I love how arrogant he is. I used to hate it, I hated it so much. But now I love it. He’ll flirt with me and he’ll be so arrogant but in a sexy way. He has this witty banter about how he hasn’t ..... oh Merlin." He decided not to talk about how Draco plans to taste him. "He’ll be so arrogant about it. I don’t know how he did it, but he managed to take the part of him I hated the most just last year and he turned it into a flirting tactic. I love when he flirts. He’s so shameless and confident. It’s really sexy.”

There it was. The breakthrough in Harry’s coyness that Pansy had been waiting for. She knew that now, he would finally get into all the little details that Harry really loves about Draco.

They continued their conversation and were nearly late to class. Harry learned that Draco was also attracted to his smile, the way he winked, and has caught Harry singing to the radio a couple of times and thinks it’s really sexy.

Meanwhile, Draco was about to learn about Harry’s obsession with his thighs. In the moment, Harry forgot Pansy was going to retell all of it to Draco, but now that he remembered, he was hugely embarrassed. Especially when he saw Pansy and Draco whispering throughout class and Draco occasionally glancing at him with a blush.

After dinner, Draco entered their dorm to find Harry on Draco’s bed, in his jumper, with his hair a bit messier than normal, listening to the radio. He obviously did it all on purpose and Draco loved it.

He smirked and slipped his robes off, pulling off his tie, and casually undoing his top two buttons with one hand. Of course.

Harry glanced up at him and stretched. “Oh, hey. How was dinner?” The jumper rose up just enough for Draco to get a peek at Harry’s skin. His own eyes wandered to the small part of Draco's chest that he could see.

Draco bit his lip and then said, “It was lovely. For dessert I had apple slices, with honey.”

Harry let out a laugh. “That’s the most posh dessert I’ve ever heard of.”

“Perhaps, but I do have a penchant for honey.”

Harry gave a giddy chuckle, flashing his Golden Boy smile, and then winking. "I know."

Draco unbuttoned his shirt the rest of the way and then began to change into his pajamas, right in view of Harry. Usually he moved to the side and Harry would respectfully look away. But now, he saw it all. And it was gorgeous. He nearly choked when he saw Draco’s dark green silk boxer-briefs.

And then he did choke. He started coughing and he wasn’t even sure why.

Draco laughed at him while he changed.

Harry coughed and looked away. He couldn’t believe how insanely sexy Draco was. “Green?” Harry asked when he could finally speak.

“I love green.” He grinned.

“Slytherin pride, I see. Representing your house.”

“It’s because your eyes are green, git.”

Harry blinked a few times. “You like green because of my eyes?”

“Of course.”

“Well that’s rather unfortunate because I like purple.”

Draco smiled at this and then turned to face Harry, looking him up and down. “You look like a mess.”

“I’ve been told dishevelment is part of my charm.”

“By who?”

“Pansy.”

Draco went pale, as if he wasn’t already. “What?”

“Yea. Messy hair, my stubble, wearing your sweaters, my smile, my eyes, singing to the radio, playing with your hair. It’s all part of my charm.” He winked.

Draco’s jaw dropped. “Oh I’m gonna kill her.”

“Don’t. It was a fair trade of information. I told her what I like in exchange for what you like.”

His eyes widened. “You freely told her all of the things she told me?”

“Yep. I knew she was gonna tell you. I wanted you to know since you were too coy to ask me yourself and had to go get your friend to do it. Leave it to a Slytherin to make things complicated.”

Draco crossed his arms. “I think I’m going to sleep in the common room.”

“Do it by the fireplace. Your hair looks heavenly with it’s golden flames shining on it.”

His cheeks went pink and he looked away.

“Or, you could always come here and let me admire your hair up close.” He tempted.

“I hate you, Potter.”

“Oh, don’t say that. You’ll make me swoon.”

“Stupid git.” He grumbled as he crawled into bed.

“I could listen to you insult me all day.”

“Well now you’re just sucking the fun out of it.”

Harry laid Draco’s head on his chest and began running his fingers through Draco’s hair, mindlessly playing with it. “Well is there something else you’d rather I suck?”

Draco’s eyes widened and he froze a moment before he busted out laughing. “Potter you absolute whore!”

“Maybe.”

With February winding down to a close, love was in the air, and closer than ever.


	22. Touch the Whomping Willow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry ends up in the hospital wing over thirty Galleons.

Draco’s plans for seduction came to a pause just before March.

Harry peeled himself out of bed and checked the time that morning. His eyes widened as he saw they were going to be late to their first class. He looked back at Draco, trying to figure out how to wake him.

He decided on gently shaking him. “Draco? Draco, you have to wake up. We’ll be late for class.”

Draco groaned and shifted, not even opening his eyes. “I don’t care. I don’t want to get up.” He was too relaxed by the warmth of Harry’s body.

“If you don’t get up right now, I’ll go touch the Whomping Willow.”

“Are you seriously threatening to injure yourself just to get me out of bed?”

“Yes.”

Draco opened his eyes and gave Harry a lazy glare. “Unfortunately, you would be dumb enough to do it. So I can’t take any chances.” The blonde sat up and then sighed, still tired. “Come on then. Put your clothes on.” He went to the bathroom to freshen up.

“Draco, we have five minutes.” Harry called out, trying to get Draco to understand how little time they had.

“Fuck!” Draco ran out of the bathroom with his toothbrush in his mouth, throwing off his clothes.

They both quickly got dressed and ready, hauling arse to class.

They sprinted into Transfigurations class just on time. Harry took his seat by Hermione who greeted him with a suspicious look.

“Rough morning?” She questioned.

“We overslept.”

“Oh, busy night then?” She smirked.

“No. We were asleep before midnight, I don’t know how we slept this late.” He didn’t even catch on to what Hermione was implying.

“You do realize you’re wearing a Slytherin jumper under your robes.” Hermione pointed out, trying to further her point and make Harry understand.

Harry only shrugged in response. “He said I could borrow them. I’ve worn them before.” He found nothing strange with him wearing Draco’s clothes.

“Then why are you also wearing a Slytherin tie?”

“We didn’t pay attention when we got dressed, we were in a hurry since we were going to be late.”

Hermione was on the verge of a breakdown, almost impressed with Harry’s obliviousness. “Harry, you both sprinted in here nearly late and having missed breakfast, you’re wearing each other’s clothes and you both look very disheveled. You two look like you’ve been sleeping together.”

“Oh.” Harry said, eyes widened in realization.

He thought a moment as McGonagall began class. He thought about his feelings for Draco, how strong and sure they had become. Then he spoke on a soft voice, “Hermione, I need to talk to you after class.”

“About what?”

“Draco.”

Hermione raised an eyebrow, unsure of what to make of the topic. “What’s going on?”

“I’m certain I love him.”

Hermione didn’t respond for a moment. Of course she had no qualms about it, but she wanted to be careful with her proceedings as she wanted to encourage and support Harry as much as possible. It was, after all, a heavy confession.

“You are?”

“Yea. I-I feel like .....” He trailed off, wanting to be honest but not sure how. He decided to let everything spill out. It was about time he told someone. “It hurts Hermione. It really does. We’re so close, I wake up in the same bed as him, we lay so close, we talk about everything, he makes me so happy, he’s so lovely. But he isn’t mine. And that hurts. I never knew I could hurt like this before.”

She was shocked. She had no idea how strongly Harry felt towards Draco. “Have you thought about asking him out?”

“I have. Our friendship, it-“ he cut himself off, sighing, “I’m not completely oblivious, I know something is there, I just don’t know what it is.”

“Harry, you two like each other, everyone can see it.”

Harry raised an eyebrow, “I didn’t think it was so obvious.”

“It is.”

After class, Harry and Draco snuck off and switched jumpers and ties, the both of them mumbling about how funny it was.

Lunch came around and afterwards there was a window of time where Ron, Harry, Neville, Dean, and Seamus were suppose to be studying. Instead, they were out looking at the Whomping Willow. Seamus got them out there after he made claims that he saw a first year almost touch it the other day. “He was almost fast enough, but the Willow got him.”

“There’s no way you can just be fast enough and not get beat by that old tree.” Ron declared, not believing for a second that anyone could outrun it.

“I saw it too.” Dean added, “He was only a little too slow. He nearly touched it.”

Harry shook his head at the idea. “What kind of idiot does that?”

“I’ll give twenty Galleons to anyone who would try something as insane as that.” Neville commented.

“Seriously?” Harry asked, very willing to get beat up for money.

“Harry, no. Don’t actually do it.” Ron discouraged it, knowing Harry would get hurt.

“Really Harry, that isn’t safe.” Dean agreed.

“I think you should do it, just a little pain for twenty Galleons. It’s worth it.” Seamus encouraged.

Dean gave him a glare so Seamus wrapped his arms around him in a hug. It seemed like a cute couple moment, until Seamus mumbled into his ear, “Draco works the hospital wing. Let Harry be his patient.”

Dean tilted his head, pretending Seamus hadn’t said anything to him so Harry wouldn’t get suspicious. “Now that I’ve thought about it, you might get hurt but it wouldn’t be that bad. And you’ll get some Galleons out of it.”

Ron stared at them a moment before slowly catching on. “If you want to try it, I won’t stop you.” He said to Harry. He didn’t want to outright encourage it, but he understood why they wanted him to do it.

Neville gave a nod and motioned to the tree. “Like I said, twenty Galleons to anyone who tries.”

“I’ll add another five Galleons to that.” Dean offered.

“Me too.” Seamus agreed.

Thirty fucking Galleons to get roughed up a little by the Whomping Willow. Harry felt it would be ignorant of him not to take the offer.

“Ha! I’ll do it!” He moved into a running position.

"Are you certain you want to do this?" Ron asked, wanting to make sure Harry was absolutely certain this was worth thirty Galleons.

"Of course! I can take a beating and I've learned to dodge."

It was hard for his friends not to physically cringe at the implications of his sentence. But Harry didn't even blink twice at what he said, he just focused on the tree. He looked at it a moment while his friends backed up some. He shifted a bit, adjusting his stance. Once he was ready he charged the tree at full speed. Nothing happened until he was only two meters from the tree. Branches swung out to hit him, but he managed to dodge them. His face lit up when he managed to throw himself against the tree’s trunk.

The Whomping Willow didn’t want to hit itself, so while Harry was against the trunk, he was safe.

“I did it!” Harry shouted back to his friends, excited and triumphant.

He let go of the trunk so the tree couldn’t feel when he was about to make his escape. He stared out at his friends, getting into position and readying to try and outrun the tree. He felt a bit foolish, and part of him knew there was no way to best the tree. He prepared himself for a beating.

He took a deep breath and then ran.

He sprinted as quickly as he could, unable to turn back and see when and where the tree was about to spring. Branches came down beside him and he ran faster. He made it only a few meters before he was hit and tossed towards his friends. He flew through the air, his limbs flailing and he knew he had to try and find a safe way to land.

He bent his knees and got his feet under him, landing on his toes, but he was then flung forward from the impact and he caught himself on his left forearm. He let out a cry of pain and he curled up on the ground. “I think I should go to the hospital wing but I don’t want to move.” He said, biting back the pain though it was evident in his voice.

His friends felt guilty for having encouraged him with the intention of him getting hurt. They didn’t expect he would get flung like that.

“Come on, help me get him up.” Ron said and Seamus quickly going over to help him.

They got Harry up and Neville started jogging ahead. “I’ll go on and let Pomfrey know what happened.”

Ron and Seamus helped Harry along while Dean apologized for having encouraged him.

“It’s really fine, in the end it was my choice.” Harry said, not wanting anyone to feel bad. But by the same token he also wanted to bludgeon them all.

\- - - - -

Draco was having a lovely day in the hospital wing. Everything was nice and quiet, not too many people were in, there were a few colds going around but nothing a bit of medicine couldn’t help.

He was currently giving Skele-Gro to a first year girl who found herself with a broken leg after tumbling down three flights of stairs.

“Don’t worry love, you’ll leg will be better in an hour or two. Happens to the best of us.”

She gave a smile, “Did you ever fall down the stairs?”

“Three times. But don’t tell anyone. Especially not Potter, that git’ll never let me live that down.”

The girl let out a laugh. It had been accepted by the school that even though Draco and Harry are friends, they’ll always insult the hell out of each other. If anything it was a bit funny.

He gave her the Skele-Gro after warning her that it would taste disgusting. She downed it all and then Draco left her to rest.

He moved on to the back of the hospital wing where he was brewing more Skele-Gro, he and a nurse were working on it together. They talked a while and started working on a few other potions until the door to the hospital wing burst open.

He hurried out to find Neville standing there. Pomfrey approached him and asked what was wrong.

“Potter hurt his arm. The Whomping Willow knocked him clear across the field, he flew quite a few meters and he hurt his arm when he landed.”

Draco’s jaw dropped. If that absolute fucking idiot really did try and touch the Whomping Willow then Draco was going to break his other arm.

Pomfrey looked over and noticed Draco. “I trust you can handle Potter yourself.”

Draco nodded at Pomfrey and then approached Neville. “What the hell did that bloody idiot do this time?”

“Well, we dared him to try and touch the Whomping Willow.”

“And he actually did it?”

“Yes. The Willow didn’t get him till he was running away. Quite impressive really, he almost made it.”

“I’ll get a bed ready.” He walked over to a bed in the back corner. He couldn't believe that Harry was actually dumb enough to go and do something like that. But given his track record, he really wasn't too surprised. He fixed the sheets and pulled back the blankets so Harry could be laid down.

When Harry did arrive, he found himself significantly less annoyed. Harry stumbled in cradling his arm, slightly hunched over, shaking, his eyes teary, and soft whimpers coming from his throat.

Draco wished he could kiss the pain away.

He pushed his feelings aside and helped Harry to a bed, putting his annoyed façade back on. “I can’t believe you were actually stupid enough to go messing around with that tree!” Draco grumbled, “I swear I’m gonna break your other arm for pulling a stunt like that.”

Harry smiled through his pain. “Shut up Draco, I’m too charming for you to hurt me.”

“Really? You want to test that theory? I had no problem hurting you before.”

“Yea, but they was before you realized how perfect I am.” He didn't even care that he was surrounded by his friends. He was having too much fun to worry about that they might think.

“I’m gonna smother you in your sleep, I swear.” Draco said as he pulled out his wand. He then cast a spell to allow him to see Harry’s bones. It was like a magical X-Ray.

He looked around and sighed at the results. “You fractured your arm.” He sounded a bit frustrated.

“Oh. Well no problem, only a fracture.”

“No Harry, it isn’t only a fracture. Skele-Gro fixes broken or, as it happened to you, missing bones. It’s too potent to fix a simple fracture.”

“So what can we do?”

“I can put you in a cast for about six weeks and then put you on physical therapy.”

“Good thing it’s my left arm.”

“Have you ever had a cast before?”

“No. I broke my rib when I was a kid, but we just hid it cause the Dursley’s didn’t want to get in trouble.”

Draco’s face went from annoyed to mildly horrified at the abuse Harry so casually mentioned. “Well. It’s an incredible annoyance to wear one. It gets hot and itchy and you can’t get it wet. There are some spells to provide mild comfort, but there isn’t much I can do. You’ll have to stay here a while so we can make sure nothing else is broken.”

“As long as I have Nurse Malfoy to ma-“

“If you finish that sentence I’ll break your bone all the way through.” He threatened, but Harry was still grinning up at him.

Draco went to go get some supplies while Harry turned to his friends. “You guys can go, don’t want to be late for class. I’ll be fine. I get thirty Galleons out of it. I’d say it’s worth it.”

His friends were hesitant, but left after apologizing a bit more.

Draco returned and closed the curtains around the bed. “Harry, I want you to understand that I have to examine you. Completely.”

“Like all my bones and muscles and insides?”

Draco cringed as Harry didn’t get what he was implying. “Yes, but I also have to examine you on the outside.”

Harry understood and blushed lightly. “Oh.”

“I’ll start with the inside stuff. But, I just wanted to warn you.”

They were silent as Draco examined the rest of him. “You’re lucky. Your only other injury is a bruised rib. It’s minor and it’ll take about three weeks. But you’ll be confined to this bed today, all weekend, and likely Monday. You’ll have to take it easy for a while after that. That means relaxing, Harry. No matter how you feel about it, you have to relax.”

Harry rolled his eyes at the mention of relaxing. “There isn’t any magic that can help?”

“There are a few spells that can speed up the healing process but they take a lot of energy to perform. All I can really do is make you comfortable.”

Then came the hard part, examining Harry’s body.

Harry removed what clothing he could and Draco was as gentle as possible in examining him. There were a few bruises and scrapes, but nothing too bad. Draco also made sure to let Harry kept his underwear on, adjusting it to look at Harry’s upper thighs and hips. He was as polite as possible and Harry appreciated that greatly. He knew that Draco, although he had been a dick in the past, was raised to be a gentleman. It showed and Harry thought it was very attractive.

Seeing how fit Harry was came second. Harry is quite beautiful after all.

Draco helped Harry redress and then gave his final statement, “All I can do is make you comfortable, give you a few potions to help with the symptoms, and put your arm in a cast. I may be able to speed up your healing a bit, but that’s a all I can do.”

Harry nodded and Draco pulled Harry’s left sleeve up as gently as he could. He began to wrap him up in a cast.

Harry couldn’t help but to notice how focused Draco was. His eyelids were low, his eyebrows were furrowed, his lower lip was trapped between his teeth, his hands were quick and his fingers elegantly fluttered around with the wrappings. Harry was entranced by how beautiful Draco was. Something about his face when he was concentrated was lovely.

Draco noticed the staring and raised an eyebrow, “Why are you staring at me?”

“What else am I suppose to look at? I might as well enjoy how cute you are.” Harry winked, knowing Draco loved how he winked. He knew Draco loved everything about his eyes and he planned on never letting him live that down.

Draco rolled his eyes, gave him a potion to numb the pain, then left Harry to rest. But of course, Harry wasn’t resting for long. Eventually, Hermione came to visit him and he convinced her to get some of his stuff so he could work from the infirmary. He was like that until dinner time. Food was brought to the hospital wing and Draco entered Harry’s curtain to give him his meal.

When Draco saw Harry was working away, he glared, setting the food down. “Working. Really? You’re working when you just got thrown across campus.”

Harry nodded and defended his decision. “I might as well now that I have free time on my hands.”

“Well eat up. Pomfrey gave me permission to use magic to speed up healing in your rib so you won’t have too much trouble when we release you. Merlin knows I'll have to bear the brunt of your complaining.”

He ate what he was given and then laid back, letting Draco use the spell.

It felt strange. It felt light and airy, as if he just might float away. It wasn’t bad, it was just strange.

A few minutes later and Draco falls forward, catching himself on the side of Harry’s bed.

“Are you alright?!” Harry asked, very concerned as Draco suddenly looked exhausted and disassociated.

“I told you ..... it-" He held his head. "-it’s draining.”

“Don’t _ever_ do it again. I’ll be fine.” Harry looked around and handed Draco the cup that was brought with his dinner. “Have some water.”

Draco took it and drank most of it. He then used his magic to check on Harry’s ribs again. “That three week period is looking more like a week and a half now. Technically I did that lot longer than I was suppose to. I only should have done it about thirty seconds.”

“Why would you go and do that?” Harry decided then and there that he wasn’t going to let Draco sacrifice his health for Harry’s.

“I can handle it. You can’t say anything, you’re the one who went and touched the Whomping Willow.” Draco decided then and there that he would give anything for Harry to get better.

“Still, you’re all out of it now and you look exhausted. Don’t do it again. You could hurt yourself.”

Draco just put on a smile. “I won’t do it again. But I don’t regret having done it.” He already knew he would do it again, but Harry didn’t need to know that because he might try to stop him. Still, it warmth him to know that Harry cared so much about him.

Harry gave a nod. It was enough for him. He did feel a lot better now but he still didn’t like that it was at Draco's expense.

“I would invite you to lay down, but you’re on the job.”

“I probably should lay. Or at least sit a moment. Merlin, I’ll have their heads for putting you up to something like that.”

“Don’t, I was the one who agreed to do it.”

“I know, but they put the idea in your head.” He was standing up straight again and seemed to be feeling better.

Harry let a playful smirk take over his face. “So. How will you survive a night without me?”

“I can do just fine without you, Potter.” He teased.

“Oh can you, Malfoy? Last I checked you quite enjoy sharing a bed with me.”

His cheeks went pink. “I do, but I can still do without you. Besides, you’re frail and injured.”

“I can just lay on my right side where there isn’t anything wrong.”

Draco was honestly a bit surprised at the invitation. He didn’t realize their nights together mattered so much to Harry. “How about I bring a chair in here and sleep there?”

“No, I don’t want you uncomfortable. Promise me you’ll sleep in my bed.”

Draco bit his lip and a smile took over his face. He was flattered that Harry wanted him to sleep in his bed. “Alright, I will.”

Harry smiled, “Good. Goodnight then.”

“Goodnight. I’ll see you tomorrow, Potter.”

“You’d better, Malfoy.”

With that, Draco left and Harry eventually fell asleep on his own.

\- - - - -

Draco’s night in Harry’s bed was anything but peaceful.

He had a night of total privacy in the bed of the man he loves, completely overwhelmed and surrounded by Harry’s scent. So he did as any kind gentleman would do.

He humped Harry’s sheets like an animal with his nose buried in the pillow.

Twice.

Once at night and once in the morning when he woke up. He opened his eyes and knew he was rock hard before he even moved. He couldn’t help it. He felt a bit dirty to masturbate to the thought of his friend. But by the same token, it was two of the best orgasms of his life. So he didn’t care that much.


	23. Nurse Malfoy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Draco does whatever he has to to make sure Harry is okay.

Saturday came along and with it was Ron’s birthday. He came down to the infirmity to see Harry, who apologized for not being able to properly celebrate it.

He gave Ron a book on training to be an Auror since that’s what Ron was determined to be. It was a very rare book as they didn’t want just anyone to know how to be an Auror. But of course, who wouldn’t sell to Harry Potter, who wants to give it to his friend and fellow rebel, Ron Weasley.

Ron was ecstatic to have the book and he spent a couple hours with Harry before going off to spend the day with Hermione and their friends.

Draco also got Ron a present, it was a charmed ring with a gem that was usually green, but turned red whenever there was danger around. He figured it would be useful given Ron’s preferred line of work.

Life in the hospital wing wasn’t that bad. Harry met some of Draco’s coworkers, got to see Draco out and about on the job, and he got to make three jokes about how Draco will have to assist him in the shower. Draco said he didn’t find the jokes to be amusing, but his blush said otherwise.

He was brought food, managed to finish his lesson plans which Draco brought to McGonagall, and he got ahead on homework because there wasn’t anything better to do.

Harry also found himself succumbing to nightmares again. He would wake up in tears, begging for his life, calling out for his parents, begging for friends and family that were long gone to come back, begging someone to not die on him, begging to be killed. It was a bit bothersome to the people he shared the hospital wing with, but they mostly just felt bad for him.

By Monday, word had spread and everyone was talking about it. Of course it wasn’t bad or malicious gossip, more like sad news.

Draco hated it. He hated that Harry’s private nightmares were becoming public stories. Most of all he hated that Harry was having nightmares.

Monday evening he marched right into the hospital wing and went into Harry’s curtain. “Alright, I’m staying with you for the night.”

“Draco? You don’t have to. It’s fine.”

“I don’t care. I want to sleep with you and I do what I want.”

Harry let out a laugh and Draco squeezed beside him, laying on his side to face Harry.

“I’ll carry your books tomorrow since we have the same classes. Your rib will still be fucked up and your arm isn’t gonna be better for a while.”

“Thank you Draco, really. But you don’t have t-“

“I know I don’t have to. I don’t have to do anything. But I want to and I do what I want. Stop before I break your other arm.” Draco looked at Harry a moment as if seriously analyzing him. “You have a real problem with others doing things for you. You can stop now.”

He opened his mouth as if he was going to formulate a response, but nothing came out. He knew Draco was right. He knew that if he didn’t stop, I’d probably kill him. “I know that I should. I want to. The war is over. I need to rest.” He paused a moment, staring into the distance, zoning out a bit before returning and saying, “Just give me time. Then we can live our lives as coworkers at Hogwarts, hexing each other at Quidditch games, sending love letters, and growing old together.”

Draco’s heart stopped and he felt like someone had dropped a weight on his chest. “You’d want to do that? Grow old together?”

Harry only smiled, “I don’t think there’s a force in this universe that could stop me.”

Draco wanted to cry. No one has ever seemed to love him so deeply. In that moment he knew that Harry loved him. There was no doubt, no what if, no hesitation. Only two boys in love. That was all that mattered to him.

He wanted to say something about it. He wanted to profess his love. But he didn’t. They were sharing a hospital bed and Harry was in a great deal of pain.

Instead, he said, “Only if you do something about that stupid beard. You look like an ill-bred brute.” But they both knew what Draco really meant. Truthfully, Draco was getting to the point where Harry looked so damn sexy that he’ll probably snap and tackle him.

Harry’s beard was coming in dark and heavy. It was only a little over a centimeter long and he looked like he belonged on the cover of a fashion magazine, or perhaps a porn magazine. Harry didn’t plan on letting it get any longer than that. He wasn't interested in a full beard, but perhaps just a bit of a rugged look to remind the world that despite his titles, he is no boy. Not anymore.

Harry put on dreamy eyes and sighed, "I could listen to you insult me all day."

Draco scoffed, "Barbarian."

Harry groaned out his words, "Mmmm, stop before you seduce me."

"Dolt." As much as he hated it, hearing Harry groan sent a wave of warmth through his lower belly.

"Are you trying to get in my pants?"

"I like your approach, now let's see your departure."

"Who told you about my shame kink? Was it Pansy?" He teased with a growing smirk.

Draco stared at him with a resting bitch face. He refused to give Harry a verbal response to play off of.

Harry bit his lip. "Oh, I could stare at that face all day."

Draco looked away and tried to ignore the fact that his cheeks were heating up. "Must you be such a harlot?"

"I prefer gentleman of the night, and it's already evening."

"Well since you like wood so much, will you leave if I throw a stick?"

"Oh, calling me a slut and a dog in the same sentence. I might not be able to get all my clothes off but I'm certain I could get all the relevant things uncovered. And don't act like you don't enjoy my brutish ways and appearance, it’s part of my charm.” He said with a growing smirk. "At least that's what you told Pansy." He reminded.

"I'll hex the daylights out of you, git."

"Don't make promises you can't keep. I'm far too gorgeous for you to hurt."

"Merlin I'm going to smother you in your sleep. You'll never be too attractive for me not to hurt. Your face can only do so much to distract from your smart mouth. Maybe you wouldn't have gotten into so much trouble when we were younger if you'd only learned to shut up every once in a while."

"No need to call me sir, professor." He quoted himself.

Draco let out a laugh. "Oh I'm never gonna forget that day. I'll admit, you had some balls to pull something like that."

"Were you impressed?"

"Minutely."

Harry smirked. "Ah, so you've always been in love with me. The pretty little posh boy falling for the rugged bad boy, how terrible. I might ruin you." He teased.

Draco was a lot of things, posh and pretty included, but he wasn't some innocent blushing virgin. Harry's confidence and smugness was irritating and he intended to put Harry in his place. "No. _I_ will ruin _you_. I am no saint. I've done a lot of filthy things with many men. Here and elsewhere. Somehow its always Hufflepuff guys, I've done a few Ravenclaws, another Slytherin once, but now I think it's high time I took a Gryffindor. I'm not some meek prey for the taking. I am the predator, you're fresh meat, and I will eat you alive. So I suggest you stop now. I wouldn't want your first time to be in a hospital bed while you have a broken arm."

Harry blushed darkly and decided to shut the hell up before Draco talked him to a boner. He took off his glasses and set them on the table by his bed.

Draco smirked triumphantly and got comfy on his side.

Harry gave a smile and found that even though he had been embarrassed, he was still completely and utterly taken by Draco. It was in that moment that Harry knew he not only didn’t want to live without Draco, but he couldn’t live without Draco. Not for a second. He needed this man in his life, and he would do anything for it.

Draco felt the same way. But rather than becoming happy and dreamy, he felt his resolve slipping away. Ever since his mother said that she approved, he’s felt like nothing was stopping him. Every time they meet at the first of the month, she always makes a point to ask about Harry.

They found themselves silent, just laying with each other, slowly drifting to sleep.

Harry fell asleep first, tired from his body working to heal itself.

When he fell asleep, Draco pulled out his wand and secretly performed the healing spell again. He knew Harry would be upset if he found out, but he didn’t care. He just wanted Harry to feel better. He muscled through it for five minutes on Harry’s arm. He rested a moment and then checked the bone with his magic, rather than a month with the cast, Draco cut him down to three weeks.

He rested a moment, taking deep breaths and closing his eyes. When he felt better he used the spell again on Harry’s rib. This time he only lasted two minutes, but managed to cut Harry’s healing time down to just one more week.

With that, he finally fell asleep.

No nightmares befell Harry that night.

\- - - - -

Draco made good on his promise to carry Harry’s books around when he was released from the hospital wing. But it didn’t do much good since Draco seemed tired. He was falling asleep in class and at meals.

Harry was immediately suspicious that Draco has gone behind his back and used the healing spell on him again. Part of him figured it would eventually happen. There really is no stopping a Slytherin from going after what they want, and one of Draco’s ambitions was to heal Harry.

Harry confronted him that afternoon after lunch and Draco confessed that he had used magic to help heal Harry the night before.

“Draco, I told you not to.”

“But I want you to be better.”

“I will be, but don’t compromise yourself for me.”

“One more time, just let me do it one more time. I could finish off your rib or help your arm.”

Harry thought a moment, a bit biased since he was still in pain. “You’ll just do it anyways when I fall asleep if I say no.” He knew there was no way to stop a true Slytherin like Draco. He pondered the consequences a few moments and then said, “Alright, one more time. But only after you’re rested, and you will do it no longer than five minutes.”

Draco nodded, agreeing to the terms as it was better than receiving a hard no.

“Now rest while we have a break. You’re obviously still tired.”

Draco obeyed and laid down on his bed fully clothed, closing his eyes and curling up. Harry turned on the radio and put some soft music on. Someone’s voice filled the air and coaxed Draco into sleep. He was out like a light.

Harry took this moment to pull out the map to see about his friends. He waved his wand and solemnly swore he was up to no good. With that, he was greeted by his friends. He took this time to explain the hilarious story of how he broke his arm and bruised his rib, how he’s spent the last few days as Draco’s patient in the hospital wing, and how he’s finally gotten the balls to flirt with Draco.

Moony was concerned about his injury, Padfoot was encouraging Harry’s pursuit, and Prongs was concerned about both.

_‘How long are you going to be in a cast? - Moony’_

“Well, I’m not sure anymore. Draco ended up using a quite straining spell to help heal my body. Apparently he wasn’t suppose to do it longer than thirty seconds, but the stupid git did it for five minutes. Then, after I told him not to do it again, he waits till I fall asleep and does it again. From what I’ve gathered, my rib only needs another week to heal and my arm needs three more weeks in a cast. After that I’ll need a little bit of physical therapy to help my arm.”

_’How was the spell straining? - Prongs’_

James found himself wondering if maybe, just maybe, Draco was someone he could approve of. Because he’ll be damned if Harry starts dating some slut.

“It drained him physically. He nearly collapsed when he finished. I don't quite know how the spell works, but he said that they typically aren't allowed to use it without permission from Pomfrey. And today he was exhausted, falling asleep in all his classes. It took a lot out of him. He’s asleep right now.”

_’Hmm. - Prongs’_

Harry rolled his eyes. “Hmm. That’s it? Really? Hmm?”

_‘For the record, my opinion of Draco has never been better. - Prongs’_  
_‘I think he’s alright. After what he did to protect Hogwarts, and with how obvious it is that he cares for Harry and Teddy, I can’t dislike him. - Moony’_  
_‘I’m inclined to agree with Moony. - Padfoot’_

“Come on Prongs. He risked his life to save the very people he was taught to hate, right under Voldemort’s lack of a nose.” He couldn’t not point out that Voldemort didn’t have a nose. Nobody ever really talked about that and it made him wonder if he was the only one that noticed. “He cares so much about me and Teddy. I-“ He cut himself off with a deep breath. “I used to wonder about how he felt about me. But now, there’s absolutely no doubt that he loves me. I know he does. I know that I love him. I know that we’re driving our friends crazy cause we aren’t together. I know that I don’t want to spend a day without him. I know he keeps sacrificing his health for mine even though he doesn’t have to and I told him not to.”

_’I know that after all you’ve been through, you aren’t a fool. So I trust you. If you know he’s good and he loves you, then I believe that. But it doesn’t change the fact that some Slytherin slut is after you. Whether he’s a good person or not. - Prongs’_

Harry struggled not to laugh. “Ah, so your concern isn’t that he’s after a serious relationship, it’s that he’s _also_ after what’s in my pants?”

_’Yes. - Prongs’_

“Well I can’t be a virgin forever. And I should mention that he isn’t just after me. I’m after him. I even got his best friend to tell me how to work him.”

_’Well no wonder you were almost put in Slytherin. - Moony’_  
_’I’m so proud of you, Harry. - Padfoot’_

“Thank you Padfoot. Prongs?”

Harry couldn't see it, but James had his arms crossed and eyes squinted, still not completely convinced that Draco deserved his son. But after some heavy consideration, he finally had his judgement.

_’He’s tolerable. - Prongs’_

Harry let out a soft laugh, not wanting to wake up Draco. He glanced over at the sleeping blonde and smiled. “He is.” He agreed.

After a bit more conversation, they said their goodbyes. Harry waved his wand and ended their connection. The map was nothing more than parchment again, and Harry put it back in his trunk.

Later, Draco was pulled from sleep by gentle fingers running through his hair and a soft voice telling him to wake up. Gentle shivers ran down his spine from the fingers in his hair. It was so relaxing but it occasionally set off electricity in his body. He tilted his head back into the hand, eliciting a chuckle above him. He groaned weakly and slowly opened his eyes. He found that his head was on Harry’s lap, he looked up and saw Harry was playing with his hair. He gave a soft smile but he felt a pang in his heart. He realized that this, this exact moment, was everything he ever could have wanted.

“Come on Draco, we have class. If you can go the rest of the day without falling asleep, then I’ll let you use your magic tonight. If not then we’ll wait until tomorrow.”

That got Draco up. He wanted to help Harry as soon as possible.

In class, Draco was attentive and very much awake, almost over exaggerated. He didn’t let himself fall asleep or even rest his eyes. After their classes he behaved the same way in dinner. But he was quite anxious for it to be over.

After dinner, he was ready to take care of Harry.

Harry came in only a moment later, seeming almost defeated. “Fine. You can use the spell if you want. You don’t seem as tired as you were.”

Draco sat down and cast the spell, slowly repairing Harry’s bruised rib.

Harry felt different. Instead of a light airy feeling, he felt heavy and almost anxious. “This is different, what is this?” He already didn’t like that someone was using an unrecognizable spell on him. Even though it was Draco and he trusted him. But the bad feeling that the spell gave him reminded him of his experiment with dark magic and his worries doubled.

“A more intense healing spell.”

Only two minutes later, Draco changed his focus to Harry’s arm.

Harry look a deep breath and he felt perfectly fine. “Did you heal my rib all the way?”

“Yes.”

Draco was obviously trying to stay focused so Harry didn’t ask any more questions.

Harry’s arm felt heavy, but he supposed that meant it was working. He saw the intense look on Draco’s face, he was staring Harry’s arm down with the concentration of a surgeon in the middle of an operation. His wand was precisely aimed and he stared intently at Harry's arm. A couple minutes later and Draco stopped.

“There, five minutes and no more, just like you said. Your rib’s fine now and your arm needs just another week in the cast.”

Harry smiled, feeling better. “Thank you Draco, and I’ll still need physical therapy after I get it off, yea?”

“Yes. The physical therapy will let you slowly build back your strength in that arm. But please remember that you arm won’t be completely healed until late April. I really need you to remember that. Don’t go off and do something else stupid. No saving the world either.”

Harry chuckled, “I really hope I don’t have to do that again.” It has been quite the adventure, but he wouldn’t do it again. He wasn’t even certain that he could repeat such an emotionally, mentally, and physically exhausting journey.

Draco gave a lazy smile and got up. “I think I’m going to go to bed now.”

“My bed or yours?”

“Mine. You obviously aren’t tired.”

“That doesn’t mean I can’t join you.” He said it as if it were obvious. As if they both already knew they were going to end up in bed together, so why not start now?

Draco gave him a surprised look, he didn’t expect Harry to be so forward.

“Alright then.”

They both put their pajamas on and Harry needed some assistance from Draco as it wasn’t that easy with one arm rendered useless.

They laid down in Draco’s bed and Harry worked on a bit of homework that he had started while he was in the hospital wing, but never finished. He was already ahead in all his classes due to the amount of work he was able to get done in the days he was confined to a bed without anything better to do. He needed something to fill the time and homework was all he had.

When he finished his paper on the history of wandless magic, he put his stuff away and laid down on Draco’s bed. He felt sleepiness take over and he fell asleep next to the blonde.

When they woke the next morning, Draco’s head was laying on Harry’s chest and he had an arm thrown around his friend’s torso.

In the back of their minds, they hoped to wake up like this every morning.

They parted and got ready for the day.

But now that Harry was finally getting over his physical ailments, Draco thought it was the perfect time to get back on his plan to make Harry his. He had to briefly abandon it when Harry got injured. But now that he was healed, he was ready to turn up the charm once more.


	24. Nodus Tollens

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> n. the realization that the plot of your life doesn’t make sense to you anymore.

With Draco back on his plans to flirt with Harry, he hit some unexpected luck.

He had a friend who worked at Witches Weekly, a magazine full of celebrity gossip, personality quizzes, recipes, fashion, advice, and just about everything a teenage girl could ask for. His friend had sent him an owl asking about Harry, specifically, his money. She wanted to know where it came from. Before he answered, he asked why she needed the information. She explained that she was writing an article on the richest wizarding families in the UK and Ireland. Harry was on the list. Draco told her that the Potter family had a history of inventing potions, getting rich off of it, and selling the company. Apparently, the bank had already told her that but she knew there was some money he was getting that wasn't on the books. He was raking in thousands of dollars each month and it wasn't from his families shares in the companies they sold. So Draco confessed that Harry also did business in the muggle economy but he gave no more details.

After talking a bit more, she mentioned that there would be another article printed that Harry was in. A list of desirable bachelors. Now this was something Draco could use to tease Harry, but he had to figure out how to bring the article up around Harry.

For this, he relied on Seamus. Rather than mention the article about how desirable Harry is, he mentioned that his friend told him about an article on the richest wizard families and that Harry was on it. He went on and on about how surprising it was because there were so many rich wizarding families with big businesses, so he couldn't fathom how Harry was richer than them. He went raved about how improbable it is. Because of this, the ever curious Seamus silently decided he would buy a copy when it printed next week.

Sure it was manipulation, but it was for a good cause. And quite frankly, it tended to always work very well in Draco's favor.

\- - - - -

March tenth was a day that may never be easy for Harry. Remus’ birthday. With his lesson plans for the future done and submitted to McGonagall, he was running out of ways to distract himself.

He opened the Marauder’s Map and began to talk with them, hoping for some distraction, until Moony mentioned that it was his birthday.

“Strange, it’s also my friend Remus’ birthday.” About halfway through that sentence, Harry’s smile disappeared but he kept his happy tone up. It wasn’t just that he was sad, but he was also suspicious.

Through the rest of the conversation, his mind reeled. Moony has the same birthday as Remus, he died around the same time as Remus, Remus is a werewolf and therefore has a connection with the moon, and Moony always gets very eager when Harry talks about Remus’ son.

Then there was Padfoot. The name itself is like a dog’s paw, and Sirius could turn into a dog. Padfoot also died around the same time Sirius did.

Prongs, he wasn’t too sure about. But Prongs did seem to know a lot about James, and he seemed to love talking about him, always supporting James and exaggerating how great he was.

Prongs, Padfoot, and Moony also knew an uncanny amount about his parents and their friends. They knew so much that it didn’t make any sense for his mother to never have mentioned three male friends in her journal. Harry knew everyone that his parents were friends with because his mother wrote about everyone she liked and disliked. Most of the people she wrote about are still alive. Of the dead, most of them wouldn’t have known his parents and their friends that well, and there certainly weren’t a trio of guys that they were best friends with.

It would also make sense considering Wormtail, likely Peter, a rodent with a worm-like tail, was no longer part of the map.

He was having serious suspicions on the identity of the trio, but he wanted to believe that if he was right, they wouldn’t lie to him. He understood it would be overwhelming for his dead father, godfather, and friend to be talking to him from beyond the grave. He hoped that they would keep their promise and tell him the truth when he graduates. But he also kept in the back of his mind that he could always be wrong. No point in getting his hopes up over the dead.

It all felt very convoluted and twisted to him. It was as if someone had gone out of their way to make him life more complex than it needed to be. Or at the very least, his time at Hogwarts. But it was almost comforting to think that he hadn’t really lost his loved ones. Still, he tried not to get his hopes up.

A few days after that, his cast was off and the first thing he did was take a shower. His arm felt gross and he didn’t like it. He also had to get ready for physical therapy. Draco wanted him to lift weights to try and get his strength back in his arm. Harry didn’t have any weights to lift. At first he used a chair, then his books, then he was lifting his filled bag. It was good enough for Draco and Pomfrey, so long as Harry was trying heavier and heavier things as he got used to each object.

With March being halfway over, things were getting stressful in the common room. Only two months left to prepare for N.E.W.T.S and classes were getting harder. Seventh year students with Ministry aspirations, which were most of them, were under more stress than ever. But for Harry and Draco, things were still calm. While their friends studied extensively in their little spot on the couches by the fireplace, Harry and Draco would read at their own leisure and have quiet conversations that usually led to excessive flirting. It was driving their friends up a wall to have to sit there and listen to their mumbling, see their blushes, catch their flirty gazes, and hear their embarrassed giggles.

But even still, the stress was evident amongst them all.

The common room door bursting open and slamming shut had become a familiar sound for everyone. All day everyday, people would be walking in and out in a huff as they were swamped with projects and papers and studying. Draco and Harry had spent their time in Hogwarts as the stars of opposing sides of the war. They had to deal with the end-of-year stress on top of the stress of war plans and preparations. Of anything, they had never been so stress-free. They felt like they hardly had anything to do. But still, they both understood the stress everyone else felt, and didn't mind the slamming door. Or at the very least, Harry didn't want to mind.

Each time it happened he would jump and look at the door, fear would briefly flash on his face. No one said anything about it but they all noticed.

After a few days of Harry being on-edge and jumping at the loud slam of the door, someone put a stop to it. Nobody knows who did it, but someone put a charm on the door so it opened and shut silently. Everyone suspected it was Draco though he never spoke about it. Nevertheless, Harry was thankful that someone did it.

Harry and his friends were starting to spend almost all their free time on the couches. Studying, reading, talking, doing projects, writing papers, and working on homework. They enjoyed the time they got to spend together because they were finally realizing it wasn’t going to last forever.

One day, while they were in a quiet conversation as to not bother their studying peers, Seamus blurted out, “Merlin Harry, why didn’t you tell us you were rich?”

Harry looked up to find Seamus peering at him over a copy of Witches Weekly. He decided not to question why Seamus was reading Witches Weekly. “What do you mean?”

Seamus passed Harry the magazine to reveal what he had been reading. “Top ten richest Wizard families in the UK and Ireland.” Harry read aloud.

“You’re third.”

Harry scanned the list and sure enough, Potter was the third family listed.

Since most of the richest wizard families had been pureblood and supporters of Voldemort, his defeat shook the finances of the rich and well-off.

First was the Black family, obviously. Second was the Ollivanders which made sense considering they monopolized wands. Third was the Potters.

While the other family names were accompanied by a family portrait or crest, Potter was accompanied by a picture of Harry laughing. It was obvious he didn’t know he was being photographed.

He scanned the rest of the article. “What about Draco and Neville, they’re fifth and tenth?”

“Neville’s a direct descendant of some of the richest members of the Black family and of course Draco _Malfoy_ is rich.” Seamus retaliated.

Draco couldn't help but to grin. The fact that his surname still meant something filled him with pride. Specifically, the fact that it meant something other than evil. He wanted to take the Malfoy name and change it's reputation to one of riches and elegance. He wanted to erase it's association with Voldemort and turn the House of Malfoy into a lavish and opulent one. Draco wasn't a gold-digger per se, but he was a businessman. He planned to replenish the wealth that was lost with the way the war ended due to his father's affiliations.

Harry read the paragraph about himself aloud. “The Potter family gained their riches through a cycle of inventing potions and selling the companies for a fortune, while still retaining a large portion of the stock. This guarantees their riches will only grow through the years. The Potter line has come down to one Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived and saved not only magic society, but potentially the world from Voldemort’s plans. Rumor has it Potter’s been working in the Muggle economy to bring in thousands more each month, working to support both himself and his godson, Edward Lupin, son of war heroes Remus and Nymphadora Lupin. Did we mention he’s single? See more on Harry Potter in our top ten most desirable bachelors list on page 24.” He rolled his eyes and passed the magazine around for his friends to see. He figured somebody at the bank snitched to the journalist about where his money was coming from.

Harry’s friends all had the same stunned reaction at what they saw when they looked at the article.

What Harry didn’t notice was that between his name and the paragraph about him, his net worth was listed.

“You have a net worth of 62,890,760 Galleons!” Ron exclaimed. He knew his friend was rich, but none of them realized he was THAT rich. With no properties or assent under his belt, they knew that Harry’s net worth was coming almost exclusively from his vault.

Even Draco was in shock. His family’s net worth was listed at almost forty million Galleons. Neville’s family was tenth with just over eight million.

“Yea.” Harry shrugged. He didn’t seem surprised in the slightest. “I get a monthly financial report from the bank about it and stocks come in on a weekly basis. I just didn’t think it mattered so I never mentioned it.” He didn't fuck around when it came to money.

Seamus got the magazine back and began to flip to the bachelor’s list that the paragraph on Harry mentioned. He let out a chuckle, “You’re number one on the Bachelors list, Harry. Neville, you’re here too as an honorable mention due to rumors about you and an Abbott girl.” He grinned.

Neville cracked a smile. “The rumors are true, sorry ladies.”

Seamus began to read the blurb on Harry. “It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Harry Potter is at the top of our most desirable bachelors list. As shown on our list of richest wizard families on page 19, Potter is loaded. But the millionaire isn’t just so. He’s also the Boy Who Lived, the Golden Boy who saved countless people. But don’t let those titles fool you. He is no boy.” Seamus began to giggle, struggling to stay composed. “Potter has recently skipped the clippers and forgotten his razor for a more mature and rugged look. Wild hair, dark stubble, stunning green eyes, and a gorgeous phys-“ He couldn’t hold back anymore and he began laughing aloud.

Neville took the magazine and continued where Seamus left on. “Uhh, wild hair, dark stubble, stunning green eyes, and a gorgeous physique.” He let out a chuckle. “Potter is beautiful on the inside and out. A war hero who was willing to lay down his life. Potter truly deserves someone to love. But with a heart as golden as his and a face just as lovely, we can’t help but wonder how he’s single.”

Harry had his knees to his chest with his arms wrapped around his legs. He was curled up in a ball on the couch and was hiding red cheeks. “Merlin.” He mumbled before shyly looking up over his knees. The blackness of his hair and pants made his green eyes pop with a radiant innocence. “Do you lot believe people really think I’m cute?”

Scoffs and eye rolls filled the group as they couldn’t believe Harry really said that.

“Harry, if I liked men I woulda slept with you years ago.” Neville said without any hesitation.

That put him in a bit of shock. Mostly due to how confident Neville was in his answer.

“Harry, you can’t tell anyone that I told you this. But Fred and George -“ Ron cut himself off at the mention of Fred, but he persisted. “They used to piss me off by having arguments over which one was gonna shag you. Even Charlie would joke about it and he’s ace. And Ginny said that if she absolutely had to shag a guy, it would be you.”

Harry was quite flattered and embarrassed. Then the conversation took a sharp turn.

“If I wasn’t in love with Dean I woulda had you in more ways than you can imagine.”

“Seamus!” Harry was in shock yet his voice was more of a harsh whisper due to his embarrassment. He was a bit scandalized that one of his best friends would say something so dirty to him. His eyes went to Dean who only shrugged.

“I can’t blame him. If I wasn’t in love with Seamus I would have made a mess upon your innocence by now, Potter.”

“M-My innocence?!”

Draco was now very invested in the conversation. A jealousy burned in him that made him subconsciously shift closer to Harry. If anyone was going to ruin Harry's innocence, it would be him.

Pansy saw this and decided to contribute to the conversation. She very visibly looked Harry up and down. “I thought about it a few times. Figured sleeping with the enemy counted as fraternizing.”

Draco glared daggers at her. How dare his own best friend betray him like that?! Who did she think she was?! She knew exactly how he felt and she still said that. If looks could kill, Pansy would be dying on the floor.

“Pansy! Y-You, why-“ Harry cut himself off, completely thrown off by what she said. He had no idea how to respond to such an unexpected confession. He was almost a bit overwhelmed by the fact the most of his friends were willing to sleep with him.

Hermione quickly caught on to what Pansy was doing and decided to help out. “I’ll admit, I did consider it a few times. But then I would remember you’re an oblivious idiot and a waking beacon of death.”

It was a fair enough assessment in Harry's opinion and somehow the least shocking. Perhaps it was because Harry knew she meant nothing by it.

Luna knew what Pansy and Hermione were doing, so she decided to speak up. “If it weren’t for the fact that I see you as a brother, I probably would have thoughts about having sexual relations with you. Objectively speaking, you are attractive.” She said it all so casually, as if it didn’t even matter because it was so obvious.

“Is there anyone here who _wouldn’t_ sleep with me?” Harry asked.

Nobody raised their hand.

“Ron?” He questioned, very confused.

Ron gave a sheepish smile. He then shrugged off his shyness and looked Harry right in the eye. “I’m with Ginny and Neville on this one. If I had to sleep with a guy, or if I liked guys, I’d sleep with you. You’re a looker, Harry. I’m straight but I'm not blind.”

Harry couldn’t believe this. He looked at Draco with a baffled expression. “You too?”

Draco let out a nervous laugh, almost trying to stall before he had to respond. “Well obviously! As Ron put it, I’m not blind, and as Luna said, you’re objectively attractive.” He scoffed, “Harry you daft bastard. I wrote a bloody love poem about your eyes and you’re surprised that I’m not unwilling to sleep with you? Seriously?! That _surprises_ you?! Merlin, you’re an idiot.”

Harry was in shock.

Neville glanced back down at the article on the most desirable bachelors. “You’re second on the list, Draco.”

Draco looked up with a bewildered expression. “What?!” Being a rich pureblood was important to only a small portion of wizard society. Some were famous for their riches, but most of them didn't have to deal with things like paparazzi and being in articles. But now that Draco had been considered a war hero, he was dealing with it more and more often.

Harry was in the paper every other week. For testifying at Wizengamot, buying Christmas clothes for Teddy, being cute in public, getting tipsy at The Three Broomsticks, even his interest in teaching DADA at Hogwarts has been leaked and articles had been written on it. Ht was also in a variety of top ten lists and opinion polls. Who has the best smile, eyes, hair, etc. He was a total celebrity and everyone was interested in his life even though the war was over.

Now, Draco was having to deal with it. Ever since his trial at Wizengamot when Harry defended him, people considered him a war hero and then realized that he's an attractive war hero, just like Harry. Suddenly he was in the news for helping Harry shop for baby clothes, there was a scandal about his parents not seeing him for Christmas, it was leaked that he was training under Pomfrey and was the heir to the hospital wing at Hogwarts, and only a few weeks ago a few magazines and newspapers wrote about the hilarious story of how Harry broke his arm and was being treated by Draco.

“Draco Malfoy. No list of desirable bachelors would been complete without mentioning Draco Malfoy. After this summer’s court trial, Malfoy has been revered as a hero who put himself on the line to save half-blood and Muggle-born students, directly betraying Voldemort to help his peers. This s-“ Neville cut himself off by howling in laughter. A delightfully surprised expression took over his face and he began to shake his head. “I can’t say that! Merlin, I can’t say it!”

While he laughed, Pansy snatched the magazine and finished reading it aloud to the group. “This s-“ She cut herself off and gave Neville a knowing grin before returning to the article. “This sexy idol has become good friends with our number one bachelor and has entered his final year at Hogwarts, where it’s been revealed that he’s begun apprenticing in the hospital wing. With the nickname Nurse Malfoy, this blonde debaucher cou-“ Pansy busted out laughing but managed to get the last of the blurb out through her laughs, “this blonde debaucher could Slytherin our sheets anytime!”

Draco’s face was red and he was struggling to keep a blank expression. “I can’t believe someone wrote that about me, and PUBLISHED IT in a magazine.”

Unfortunately for them, Hermione was shameless. “They should have had Harry write it. That way it would of been much more eloquently put.”

Harry and Draco both looked at her, embarrassed.

Hermione only shrugged as if everyone knew she was right, which everyone did.

It had now been verbally and openly established that Draco and Harry were at the very least willing to sleep with each other. There was also a silent agreement that they would spend the rest of their lives together. So now that the Slytherin had remembered his charming ways, perhaps now it was time for the Gryffindor to remember his bravery.


	25. Die For Nothing

When his father’s birthday came around on the thirtieth, Harry spoke extensively about him with the Marauders. He wanted to know everything. What his favorite subjects were, when he and Lily started dating, who James dated before Lily, his favorite pranks, his strategies in Quidditch, how he reacted when he found out Lily was pregnant with him.

Although Harry still didn’t question it, he was extremely suspicious at the amount of detail the Marauders had on his father. It only confirmed his theory on their identity. He might be a bit oblivious, but he wasn’t stupid.

But he trusted that when graduation came, he would know who he had been talking to. And no matter who it was, he would be okay with it.

The next day, just before Easter holiday, Harry and Hermione withdrew some more Galleons to be melted. She needed the funds so she and Ron could start shopping around for furniture. They acted as if they were going to move in tomorrow. It was sweet, but it was also making Harry worries about his own future. Should he start looking for a house? Was he waiting too late?

After talking to Hermione, he learned it can take a few months to find what you really like. Hermione gave him the contact information of her landlady and said she owned a couple other properties that Harry might like.

They returned to Hogwarts late at night and covered in soot. It was mostly Harry who got coated since he wanted to do all the melting to help him with his arm, and he was covered in more soot than usual due to their larger than normal amount of metals to melt.

When he went back into his dorm he saw that Draco had waited up for him once again.

Draco looked at Harry as he entered. He was absolutely covered in soot. “Merlin, Harry. Did you burn a village down?”

“Very funny Draco, but no. I didn’t. It was only a small hamlet.”

“Ah, unimportant then.”

“Precisely.”

Harry grabbed a towel and his pajamas. He was filthy and smelled like a campfire. “Well, I ought to get cleaned up.”

“Let me know if you need any help.” Draco winked.

“If I didn’t need assistance with the cast, I definitely don’t need it without.”

Draco rolled his eyes and Harry took a shower.

When finished Harry and stepped out, Draco couldn't look away. He had his pajama pants on but not a shirt. Small and soft muscles, dark stubble, adorable glasses, wild hair still dripping onto his body. Ah yes, he forgot Harry was a sexy beast. But he was so innocent too. Harry was a walking paradox and it was killing Draco.

“Merlin Harry, put on a shirt, and shave why don’t you?”

“Clothes are boring, and I like my stubble. Plenty of people like it. They like it so much they’ve written articles about it in magazines and papers.” He reminded as he sat on the edge of his bed and dried his hair off with his towel. He skipped putting on a shirt and he laid back, stretching. Soft groans escaped his body as he felt his joints pop and his muscles relax. “Come here, Draco.” He whined and opened his arms.

“You really are a needy little child.” Draco mumbled as he laid in Harry’s arms. “I can’t believe I’m letting you hold me after you just did all that labor.”

“I showered. Sorry I don’t spend all my time playing with my collection of moisturizers.”

“Skincare isn’t a game.”

Harry rolled his eyes. “Posh.”

“I’m told it’s part of my charm.” He mocked.

Harry grinned. “It is.”

They fell asleep like that. In a mix of insulting and flirting with each other.

Something was different about that night. It was as if they both had the same plans for Easter holiday. They would have the next two weeks with Hogwarts empty and all to themselves. They each planned to make it a repeat of Christmas. But this time, they were both determined for it to end with a relationship.

The next morning was spent in bed. They laid together and ended up drifting through various cuddling positions. Each of them hiding their morning wood and blissfully unaware of the other’s.

Harry willed his away and Draco eventually got up to fix his in the shower. He had to spent his first day of break in the hospital wing. He and a few of his coworkers decided to meet up on the first day of break and brew a bunch of medicines so they would have a good stock for the end of year antics that always occur. Pranks, fights, even sleep deprived accidents. It’s unavoidable.

Harry took this opportunity to pull out the map and speak to his friends once more. He told them about how he was featured in Witches Weekly as the most desirable bachelor in the UK and Ireland. They congratulated him and Prongs went on about how Harry got his looks from his father, who was so handsome. He also told them all about how he was going to spent his break making Draco his. They all supported him, even Prongs.

“I have a good feeling about all this. By the end of the break I’ll have a boyfriend, I know it.”

Of course, James couldn’t resist making a joke.

_’Does Draco know he’s running out of time to whore around? - Prongs’_

Harry smiled. “Oh? Don’t worry about that. He’ll be my whore.” He said matter-of-factly.

James didn’t like that at all and Harry knew it. That’s why he said it. But little did Harry know, James had one last trick up his sleeve.

_’I’ll tell your mum. - Prongs’_

He considered the fact that he could tattle on Harry to be the ultimate power-move. Then again, James never lived past his early twenties. Although he lived on in the afterlife, one could argue that without the hardships and drama of the real world, he hasn't grown up as fast as he would have.

Harry’s heart stopped and his hand flew up to grip he silver Lily still around his neck. It’s been there for months. “You know her?” He was shocked to say the least. His voice was little and broken. “She’s there? I-In the same place as you?”

He stared at the paper intensely, his eyes demanding a response. He never considered it a possibility that they might be with his mother. He had to assume other people were there, but he didn’t think his mother would be one of them. He would have thought they would have mentioned it if someone that close to him was there.

James decided to tread very carefully.

_’Yes. - Prongs’_

Harry’s lips parted and he leaned back against the headboard of his bed. He closed his eyes a moment and swallowed. His chest was heavy and his throat was dry. He couldn’t believe what was happening. His mother was there.

Everything slowed down and he took a moment to just breathe. He couldn’t believe that his mother was there. She was so close, yet completely unobtainable. But still, he had her. Right there.

“Please, tell her I love her.” His lower lip trembled. He never thought he would have a chance to give a message to his mother. “Tell her that I’m okay. Tell her about me, tell her all about me. I want her to know who I am. I want her ....” he trailed off as his eyes teared up. “I want her to be proud of me. I want her to know that she didn’t die for nothing. I want her to know that everything is okay.”

He broke. For the first time in forever, he shattered. “Tell her I have her necklace, that I haven’t taken it off in months.” His voice shook as he spoke through sobs. Tears fell from his face and his mouth was flooded with moisture as if his body was trying to drain itself of all the heavy emotions he was hit with. Every wall he had built up around these three strangers finally cracked

“Is my father there? Is he with her? Tell him I love him too. Tell him that everyone says I look just like him, but with my mother’s eyes. Tell him about me, tell him everything. Tell him he didn’t die for nothing. Please.” He wiped his eyes as a whimper broke through.

James could do nothing but stand there, frozen, and listen to Harry. He felt sadness seeping deep into his bones and his face burned. He didn’t know it was possible to feel so broken and helpless. Being able to communicate with Harry had rejuvenated him with the vigor of knowingness he could still be there for Harry. But now he was only weak and small.

“Is Remus there?”

Remus paled. He was already a bit hurt by Harry’s heartfelt message to James and Lily. But he didn’t except he would have a turn.

“Tell him about Teddy. Tell him about all the words he’s learned. That his his favorite color is blue, but he likes light blue and not dark blue. Tell him he has blue hair and brown eyes. Tell him that whenever Teddy sees a picture of him,” He was overcome by sadness. His fought to get his words out through the cries that wanted to come out. “his hair turns sandy.” He let out a sob before he could continue. “Tell him that they have the same face! Oh Merlin, he’s a spitting image of Remus with Nymphadora’s jawline and eyebrows.” He was utterly done, sobs shaking through his body as he forced his words out. “They look so much alike it breaks my heart into a million pieces every time I see him! Merlin, it hurts!”

Remus beamed. His lower lip trembled and he had never felt so happy in his life. He didn’t know Teddy would shift to match his hair and eye color. He felt like even though Teddy didn’t know him, Teddy somehow loved him in his own way.

“Tell him that Andromeda is doing well. That she’ll never have to work a day in her life. I’m taking care of her and Teddy. He doesn’t need to worry about them. Tell him I’m going to buy a house and Teddy will have a room there so he can come over anytime he wants. Tell him I’m going to teach at Hogwarts so I’ll be able to watch out for Teddy everyday. Tell him Teddy’s cousin Draco is looking out for him too. Tell him Draco reads to him all the time and is trying to teach him French even though I think it’s pointless. He’s a baby, he doesn’t need to know French. But tell him Teddy’s already better at French than I’ll ever be. Tell him that Teddy will have all the clothes, toys, and books he could ever want.” He hiccuped as he tried to calm his breathing. “Tell him Teddy isn’t going to grow up like us. He’ll have it better. He’s gonna be better than we ever were.” Harry sniffled. “Tell him I’ll make sure Teddy lives an amazing life. Tell him he didn’t die for nothing.”

Remus collapsed on the ground and found himself crying. He was so thankful and he was so proud. He always knew he made a good decision in making Harry Teddy’s godfather. He was overjoyed that his son would live a better life than any of them ever did.

“Is Sirius there? He must be. Him and my parents and Remus should never be separated.”

Sirius already had tears streaming down his face but he wasn’t crying nearly as hard as Remus and James. He wanted to stand strong and comfort his friends. But nothing could prepare him for what Harry was about to say.

“Tell him I love him. Tell him that even though I never really said it, I always saw him like a father. He was a father to me. He still is. He was there for me when I really needed someone and he filled a huge hole in my life.”

Sirius had no idea. He thought Harry saw him more as a friend or an uncle or something. Then again, he did stumble upon Harry in the midst of his moody teenage years. Harry hadn’t exactly been the most open or emotional teen. But he was beyond words to know that Harry saw him in that light.

“Tell him that I’m going to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts. Tell him about all the witches and wizards who have been thrown in Azkaban for their crimes. Tell him that the number of Dementors in the world has gone down. Tell him they don’t survive that long outside of Azkaban. When he died, I-“ He looked away, thankful that Draco was gone because he wasn’t proud of what happened. “When he died, I tried to kill Bellatrix. Tell him that I didn’t let her win!” He let out a few soft cries as he tried to regain control of himself.

He took a few deep breaths and felt a bit better. “Tell him about me. Tell him all about me. Tell him that he didn’t die for nothing. Tell them that I made sure none of them died for nothing. Tell them that next year, my peers are going to take the Ministry by storm! Tell them that they’re planning to make a series of laws in Remus’ honor that protect the rights of those afflicted with Lycanthropy. Tell him that no one like him can ever be denied a job because of that. Tell Sirius that they’re going to implement a form of child protective services so that no kid can ever be hurt again.” Lily’s journal briefly touched the subject of Sirius’ childhood. “Tell my father that I fought just like he did and that no one else will have to die. Tell him that there will be no more orphans of war. Tell my mother that her siste-“ He cut himself off. His throat closed up at the mention of Petunia.

He sniffled, a bit hesitant. “Tell my mother that no one will ever hurt me again. Tell her that I turned out alright.”

He curled up some, finally letting his tears and cries flow free. He felt like he finally got to tell them everything he had always wanted to say.

The three men looked at each other. Amongst their tears they all seemed to silently agree on something. Enough was enough.

_’Harry, we have something to tell you. - Prongs’_

Harry saw the message and quieted down to sniffling in order to focus on the page. He couldn’t even speak. He just looked done at the page, hoping that it would be something good.

_’Harry, I’m very sorry. I know we haven’t been very honest about our identities. But now we need to be. - Padfoot’_

Harry was still silent. He wiped his eyes and looked at the page expectantly. He hoped to finally know their identities. Most of all, he hoped that they were who he thought they might be.

_’It’s me, Sirius. - Padfoot’_  
_’Remus. - Moony’_  
_’I’m James, your father. - Prongs’_

Harry closed his eyes and smiled through his tears. “I knew it. Oh, I knew it.” He whimpered out his words and started to calm down from his outburst. He was relieved and rapturous to know it was them.

_’How could you have known? - Prongs’_

He cracked a smile. “Prongs, my father was an illegal deer. Padfoot, my godfather was an illegal dog. Moony, my friend was a werewolf. You lot know an uncanny amount about my parents, too much to just be bystanders, but my mother never wrote about three guys she was so close to besides my father, Sirius, and Remus. One of you died in the war, one of you died right when I was born, Moony happens to have the same birthday as Remus, and Padfoot is too much of a slut to not be Sirius. It wasn’t that hard to figure out.”

_’I'm both offended and proud. - Padfoot’_

Harry smiled. “You had to be Sirius. If you weren't, you would have slept with Sirius, and if you had slept with him, you would have bragged about it.” He opened up the map and glanced around for the hospital wing.

_’You have your mother’s brain. Did you know that she figured out I was a werewolf in sixth year? - Moony’_

“Yes, but she had suspicions since third year. She wrote about it in her journal.” He found Draco walking around the hospital wing and he smiled. He watched as Draco spent most of his time in the back room where they brewed medicine.

He spoke with them a bit longer before he decided to put the map away for the day. He was already late to lunch and didn’t want to show up looking like he had been crying.

He entered the Great Hall and found Draco was already seated. Less than ten people were still at Hogwarts and none of them were sitting in their usual seats. Half of them were all crowded together at the Hufflepuff table, and the others were at the Ravenclaw table. But none of the Ravenclaw were at the Ravenclaw table and vice versa with the Hufflepuff. Draco was the only one in his proper place, but of course, he was being ogled and giggled at by some girls who remained.

Harry sat down by Draco and was met with a raised eyebrow. “What have you been doing? You’re late and you look like you’ve been crying.”

Harry opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out. He sighed and grabbed some food. “I want to tell you. I really do. But it’s going to sound insane.”

“Try me.”

So Harry did. He explained his initial discovery of using dark magic to link the conscious mind to an inanimate object and how the book had been hidden away. Then he explained the Marauder’s Map and how the Weasley twins gave it to him. He told Draco about how he put two and two together and came to discover that the Map was linked to the minds of three deceased men, previously four, until the fourth turned on them. Then he laid on the bombshell.

“About an hour ago, I learned that those three men are Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, and my father, James Potter.”

Draco sat back in his seat and closed his eyes. “You’re right. That’s absolutely mental.” He blinked a few times and then asked, “How do you feel about that?”

“I’m happy. I really am. It feels like I still have them all in my life and I always suspected it was them anyways. They knew far too much about my parents and their friends for it not to be them. But suspecting it’s them and finding out I was right are two very different things.”

It was then that Draco got a bit nervous. “So, what exactly have you told them?”

“Everything. My entire life story, really. They know about it all.”

“About what a dick I was?” He mumbled the question, a bit ashamed.

“Yes. They also know you risked your life to save people. They also know ..... a little bit about us.” He wasn’t sure how to word it, so he went with that.

Draco blushed. “Oh.” He likes that Harry referee to them as “us”. As if they were together. A grin spread upon his face. “How does your father feel about that?”

Harry smirked. “He uh-“ He cut himself off with a chuckle. “He said you’re tolerable.”

“Good enough for me.” Draco almost couldn’t wait to hear James’ opinion on him after Draco sleeps with his son.

“It’s insane to think that I can still talk to him. He’s still here.” Harry grinned. He was obviously a bit overwhelmed and Draco understood that. “I never thought I’d be able to talk to him. I thought he was just gone.”

They talked a while and soon enough, Draco had a very concerning question. “Wait, so you’ve had a map that shows you where everyone in Hogwarts is?”

“Yes.”

It was obvious that there was a question Draco wanted to ask, but wasn’t.

Harry sighed, “Yes, I used it to track your movements when you were working for Voldemort. I used it to track everyone.”

That explained quite a lot. “Have you used it recently to track me?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s comforting to watch your name drift around the map. I like knowing you’re safe.”

Draco smiled and looked away. A small and teasing smile slipped onto his face. “Careful, Potter. People might think you’re in love with me.”

“I wouldn’t care if they did.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Oh? So if someone were to spread a rumor that you were madly in love with me, what would you do?”

“Ignore it, of course. Rumors fly, and we know the truth.”

Draco looked up into Harry's eyes. Something about the way Harry looked at him told him that they were on the exact same page. “I suppose we do.”

Soon.

Very soon.


	26. Warmth

The warmth of another wasn't something that Harry would ever get used to. He was used to the isolation of his cupboard. He wasn't used to the tenderness and love that radiated off of Draco. He and Cedric really had fancied each other all those years ago, but now Harry understood that what they had wasn't love. Not really. It could have been, but it wasn't. But this, the blonde in his arms, that was love. It was a fire, passionate and new. He hoped to see the day where it became something warm, flickering, and familiar. Eventually he hoped to see when time turns their fire to warm and bright embers, and although tame, embers alone are just as dangerous as flame. He knew that if cared for, they could burn forever.

It was another lazy morning for them.

They spend the last two days together. They didn’t leave the other’s side and they hardly left Draco’s bed. They sat together, ate together, read together, and talked the nights away. Everything felt perfect.

Harry pulled Draco closer and buried his face in the back of Draco’s head. He shifted a bit and pressed his bare chest to the silk of Draco’s pajamas. Closing his eyes and taking in Draco’s scent, he knew he could lay there forever. It felt right.

A lazy smile slipped onto Draco’s face as he felt himself be pulled closer by Harry’s arms. He closed his eyes as well and enjoyed the warmth radiating off of the boy behind him.

It was perfect and right. Nothing else mattered.

“I kind of wish the radio was on, but I don’t want either of us to get up.” Harry mumbled.

_“When your legs don’t work like they used to before, and I can’t sweep you off of your feet.”_

They both sat up and looked at the radio that seemed to have turned on by itself, letting a song by Ed Sheeran echo off the walls.

“It wasn’t me.” Draco quickly said, a bit freaked out. Even in a world where magic exists, some things still aren’t normal.

“Wasn’t me either.” Harry felt a grin spread on his face. “Must of gotten enchanted due to exposure to magic.”

Muggle technology becoming enchanted due to magical exposure was common and to be expected. The results of which can vary. Sometimes you get something cool, like the Weasley’s flying car. Other times, you aren’t so lucky.

Neither of them were surprised that it happened. But they wondered the extent of which the radio was enchanted.

Harry suggested a radio station aloud and the radio turned to it. Draco gave the name of a specific Muggle song and the radio started to play it. Harry tried doing the same thing but with a song by a wizard band, and it yielded the same result. They looked at each other, somewhat amazed.

There didn’t seem to be any downside to this. It was actually pretty cool.

Harry suggested a radio station and they laid back down together, with soft music in the background.

They lasted only a few moments like this before Harry felt completely overwhelmed.

He pulled Draco closer again and closed his eyes. He was wrapped in Draco’s warmth, scent, silk, aura, breathing, every fibre of his being was enveloped in the ambience of Draco. His senses were flooded and his mind was numb to everything besides Draco. It was silent and loud, paralyzing and liberating, fiery and mild, so pure and tragic. He burned and ached to confess, but he was chided by the powerful serenity of the room. He was trapped in a glass menagerie of love. He couldn’t move or speak, because if he did, he could ruin everything. But he had never been so free to display his love for Draco.

It was so perfect, but it wasn’t real.

Not really.

Harry needed to be able to hold Draco and know he was holding _his_ boyfriend. He wanted it to be official that Draco was his.

Although he had gained a lot of confidence in his flirting, it was time for the Gryffindor to remember what bravery is.

“Uhm.” He started off, mumbling the syllable into Draco’s ear.

The blonde shivered at the feeling of the word hitting the shell of his ear. It tickled.

“I love you.”

Shit.

That wasn’t what Harry meant to do at all. But since it already happened, Harry ran with it.

“I love you, Draco. I really love you. I love you more than I’ve ever loved anyone. Whenever I think of the future, I always think about you because I want you there, with me, forever.” He paused a moment and bit his lip before continuing. “I know forever is a lot to ask. But, maybe if you agree to be my boyfriend, we could start from there?” He was obviously nervous.

Draco was frozen in place for a second. He couldn’t believe Harry had so boldly confessed. “Okay.”

Part of him was upset that he wasn’t the one to ask and initiate the relationship. But the deep chuckle he heard behind him and the feeling of a soft stubble digging into the back of his neck made him forget any and all qualms.

“I’d love to be your boyfriend.”

He smiled softly until he felt a few gentle kisses on the side of his neck. A shiver ran through him and he quickly sat up. “Did you do that on purpose?”

“Do what?” Harry was bewildered and a bit scared that he already managed to ruin everything.

“Merlin, you don’t know.”

“Don’t know what?”

Draco closed his eyes and let out a laugh. “You’re such a virgin!”

Harry was significantly less worried and mostly just annoyed. “What is it?”

“Harry, a person’s neck is ..... sensitive.”

“How was I suppose to know that?”

Draco raised an eyebrow. “You really are inexperienced.” He then smirked. “I could always show you.”

Harry rolled his eyes. “Go ahead. But have you ever considered that maybe _you’re_ just sensitive?”

Draco didn’t even answer. He just leaned down and pressed his lips to the side of Harry’s neck. He trailed slow kisses from the base of Harry’s neck, to just below his ear, and then back down.

Harry genuinely didn’t believe Draco’s reaction to a few kisses had been warranted. But now, he understood.

The first kiss alone made his back arch and a gasp escape his mouth. His lips remained parted and he turned his head to the side to give Draco more room. He pressed his thighs together as warmth and excitement rushed between his legs. He closed his eyes and felt Draco slide a hand behind his arched back, holding him while he placed the last few kisses.

Draco pulled back and saw Harry with his head to the side, lips parted, eyes closed, eyebrows furrowed, back arched, and thighs pressed together. He looked completely debauched. “If I had known that was enough to shut you up, school would have been much more interesting.”

“Do it again.” The demanding tone in Harry’s voice caught himself by surprise.

“What?” Draco was taken aback.

“I want more. Please?” He squirmed a bit, making his desperation obvious.

Draco smirked. “So polite. But I don’t think you need more. You’ll only give yourself a problem, and I don’t think you’re ready for me to fix it.” He was already ruining the golden boy’s innocence and he loved it.

Harry let out a whine and squirmed again. “Git.”

“You’ll live.”

“But I need it.” Now that he’s felt such a pleasure, he didn’t want to let it go. He wanted more. It was so blissful and good. He craved the attention.

Draco stared down at him, his eyes getting a bit more intense with arousal. “Don’t tempt me like this. You aren’t ready for that Harry.”

“You make it sound like we can’t control ourselves.”

“I kissed you a few times and that was enough to make you beg for more. It’s hard enough to deny you.”

“But if you gave me more, we wouldn’t have this problem.”

“You’re so desperate.” Draco mumbled as he leaned back down and kissed the other side of Harry’s neck.

Harry let out a content sigh and closed his eyes. His back slowly arched again as he couldn’t keep it down with the pleasure rushing through his spine. He one of his hands went up to run his fingers through the hair on the back of Draco’s head. He kept his hand there, resting at the curve of Draco’s skull. He couldn’t see it, but Draco’s eyes nearly rolled back at the feeling of Harry’s fingers in his hair.

It was calm and fine until Draco kissed just under the shell of Harry’s right ear.

“Oh!” Harry moaned out the word and his back sharply arched up as the hand in Draco’s hair made a fist. The tightened grip in Draco’s hair made the blonde let out a soft groan.

They looked at each other a moment, each with flushed cheeks.

Harry smirked. “Don’t tell me you like having your hair pulled?”

Draco glared at him. “Don’t you dare try to act like you’re the top here.”

“Oh, I’m not?” He gave Draco’s hair a light tug. He couldn’t resist the thought of doing something that would bring Draco pleasure. It wasn’t about topping. It was about making Draco groan, and also pissing him off a bit. That’s always fun too.

Of course Draco groaned again. But he looked down at Harry with a calculated smirk. His hands shot out and gripped Harry’s wrists and the shock of Draco’s quick movements made Harry release his grip. Draco was quick to move Harry’s hands to rest on either side of his head, and he held them there.

Harry had never been pinned down like this before in his life. There were spells that had rendered him immobile before. But he’s never had someone physically pin him down with such a carnal intention.

He stared up at the blonde in shock. He blinked a few times and tried to compose himself. Which he mostly did, despite his red cheeks. “Congratulations. I can’t pull your hair anymore.” He struggled a bit and realized he couldn’t shake Draco’s weight off of him. He rolled his eyes. “Okay, you’ve won _this time_ but n-“

Draco cut him off. “I am the top, Harry. Shut up.” He leaned down and planted his lips directly on the spot that made Harry groan.

“Ah, mm.” Harry felt pathetic as he was incapable of formulating a response. Warmth flooded into his pants and he shifted a bit, unable to find any relief.

Draco kissed at the area and then gave it a soft nip. Harry’s eyes widened in surprise and his hips bucked. He couldn’t believe his own response to Draco’s actions.

Draco chuckled above him and began to lightly nip and suck at the sensitive flesh by Harry’s ear.

Harry’s back was arched up once again and he squirmed a bit, trying to quell the excitement bubbling in his lower belly. “Draco.” He sighed out the blonde’s name and that send a rush through the boy on top on him.

Draco pulled away a moment to let the skin he teased be bothered by the cold air of the room, and sure enough, Harry shivered. He leaned back down and let the tip of his tongue run across the mark he’d made. Another shiver went through Harry’s body.

Draco planted one final kiss and pulled away looking satisfied as hell.

Harry groaned and let his back finally fall flat on the bed. His eyes were closed and his eyebrows furrowed. He took a moment before he opened them and looked up at the proud blonde. “O-Okay. You’ve proven you point, you’re the top.”

Draco smirked down at him. He admired the mark on Harry’s neck before he let his eyes slowly rake down Harry’s body. It was then that he realized he had Harry turned on and shirtless, pinned under him. He bit his lip and looked Harry in his eyes. “You’re so beautiful. I’ll give you everything you want.” He winked.

Harry wasn’t sure what fluttered first, his heart or his dick, but both responded to the profound statement from Draco. “I love you.” Harry said once again. He needed to hear it back.

Draco’s smirk broke into a smile. “I love you too, git.” He leaned down and kissed Harry. Finally.

It was more than fireworks or butterflies, simple words like that couldn’t describe the weightless and fluttering joy they felt inside themselves. It invaded their systems and infected even the darkest parts of them, filling the both of them with a pure happiness.

They pulled away and grinned like the idiots they were.

“Not that I’m complaining, but would you mind letting me up now? I’d like to hold you.” Harry said softly, somewhat hushed by the passion between them.

“Not if that bulge in your pants is going to be pressing up on me.” Draco said as he looked down at it.

Harry blushes darkly and squirmed. “Don’t look at it! Draco, that’s embarrassing. Come on.”

Draco chuckled and got off of him, finally letting Harry up. “Oh shut up. I’ll just hold you instead.” But it was then that they both realized Draco was also hard.

Harry glared at him a bit. “Draco, you stupid git.” He huffed playfully. “I can’t believe you’ve done this.”

“You begged me for more. You pulled my hair knowing it would encourage me to retaliate. You did this. And even before that, you kissed my neck first.”

“I didn’t know it would feel like that.” He defended.

“Virgin.” Draco scoffed. “Always got an excuse, Potter. I really should make it worse for you because I know you won’t do anything about your problem.”

“Shut up and hold me, Malfoy.” He said while turning onto his side.

Draco couldn’t stop the grin that appeared on his face as he laid down beside Harry and wrapped his arms around him. “Gladly.”

While they laid there, Draco found himself getting happier and happier. He actually did it. Harry was his. He won. He pulled Harry closer and enjoyed his victory.

“I can’t believe I’m dating the cutest boy in school.” Draco said with a grin.

Harry rolled his eyes and his cheeks went pink. “Shut up, Draco.”

“Well it’s true. The cutest boy in school, all mine.” Even though they weren’t enemies, Draco will never stop enjoying the feeling of embarrassing Harry.

“Whatever.”

“I can’t wait till everyone comes back and I can show off what belongs to me, now. Especially now that I’ve marked you as mine.”

Harry’s eyes widened. “You left a mark?!” Of course he knew what a hickey was and how it happened, but he didn’t realize how easy it was to mark him.

“Yes, but it’s really small and light. You have tougher and tanner skin than I’m used to. It’ll take some practice and experimenting, but soon enough I’ll know just how to mark you.”

Harry raised an eyebrow. “How easy is it to mark you?” Draco was paper than him, and despite Quidditch, his skin was actually very soft due to years of serious skincare.

“Very.”

Harry smirked to himself and immediately decided that when everyone comes back, it was gonna be Draco covered in marks and not him.

"Don't even think about it.' Draco said, knowing exactly what Harry wanted to do.

Harry rolled his eyes. "You say that as if I've ever listened to you."

Draco raised an eyebrow and pulled Harry even closer, and in response, Harry cracked a smile and set his hand atop Draco's.

He cracked a smile. "You like when I hold you.”

"Of course I do." Harry responded.

"Why?"

Harry thought a moment. "Because I like getting attention from you, and you're warm."

"So I'm nothing more to you than a furnace."

"Yea, but you're a cute furnace."

They spent the rest of their day together, in a warm and pastel haze of complements and giggles. They were in a bubble full of love and nothing outside of their little bubble mattered. It was a perfect day.


	27. A Snake and A Deer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry decides to finally introduce his father to Draco.

A week into their relationship and Harry hadn't spoken to the Marauders or told them he finally got with Draco.

Draco brought it up while they were returning to their dorm from the library. He saw a painting of a father and son which reminded him that Harry said he could still communicate with his father. "When was the last time you spoke to your father?"

Harry shrugged, "About a week."

"So you haven't told him or his friends that we're together?"

"No."

Draco was silent a moment as they walked through the empty halls. As they approached their tower, he finally said something, "Are you avoiding it?"

"A bit." Harry said softly.

Draco's eyes flickered down and he immediately felt responsible. "Is it because we're both boys?"

"No!" Harry was quick to correct that. "My father's made it clear he doesn't care for the gender of whoever I date. Sirius is bisexual."

Draco nodded. "Is it because I was a Death Eater?"

"Draco, my father likes you." He stopped and turned to face Draco. "He doesn't dislike you. He’s just protective. He thought he missed his shot at being able to parent me, and now he has a second chance. He's missed a lot and spent months playing catch-up. Now he finally has his chance and has to start at the tail-end of my shitty teenage years. He never got to have the talk with me about relationships and sex, he never got to advise me, help me deal with heartbreak, he never got to meet any of the people I dated. He doesn't care about your gender, affiliations, house, or family name. In fact, the only thing he's expressed concern about is that you'll eventually try to sleep with me."

Draco couldn't stop a smile from creeping onto his face. "Ah, then his concerns are valid. I am quite the charmer, and I've already marked you as my own. Just give it a few more weeks and you'll never leave my bed again."

Harry rolled his eyes and continued walking to their dorm.

"Come on, just tell him. I'll be there with you. I won't even say anything if you don't want me to."

Harry sighed but seemed to relent. "Alright. I'll tell him when we get back to our room."

They made it back and Harry seemed a bit nervous. He made his way over to his trunk and pulled out the blank map.

Draco was immediately interested as to how Harry was going to contact the dead using a piece of paper.

Harry waved his wand, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

With that, the map revealed itself to Draco and Harry.

Draco's jaw dropped as Harry opened the map to show him that Harry really could see where everyone in Hogwarts was at all times. "Wow." He said softly. It was phenomenal. He realized Harry's father and friends must of been geniuses to have mastered such complex magic as teenagers.

Harry closed it and stayed on the front page, where the three Marauders; Moony, Padfoot, and Prongs, proudly presented the Marauder's Map. "Hey guys."

_'Harry, how long has it been? A week? Where the hell have you been? - Padfoot'_

"That's Sirius." Harry mumbled to Draco.

_'Easter holiday should have just started, so I know you haven't been busy. - Moony'_

"Remus?" Draco softly questioned, and Harry nodded.

_'Have you been trying to get with that Slytherin? - Prongs'_

They both silently knew that was James Potter.

"Yes, I have been, actually." Harry fired back, prepared and ready to sass his father. It had become a usual thing for them and neither of them meant any harm behind it.

_'Oh great. And how has that been going for you? - Prongs'_

"Excellent. So excellent that it worked. Draco's my boyfriend now."

_'I always knew you could do it. Nice job, Harry. - Padfoot'_  
_'Congratulations. I must admit Malfoy was one of the least annoying students I had. Significantly less annoying than you. - Moony'_

"Ouch. But understandable. And thank you Sirius."

Draco found himself smirking. He didn't think that any of them would have positive feelings towards him, despite what Harry said. Hearing it and experiencing it are two different things.

_'I knew you would. You're a charmer, just like me. But I swear to Merlin if that harlot lays a hand on you I'll come back and haunt the shit out of him. - Prongs'_

"He isn't a harlot. He hasn't even has sex in over a year now. And even when he was sleeping around, he didn't actually sleep with a lot of people." Harry defended, already embarrassed.

_'Harry, it doesn't matter what he has or hasn't done. He'll always be the Slytherin slut who's trying to sleep with my boy. - Prongs'_

Draco's jaw dropped and he nearly fell over trying not to laugh. He thought it was hilarious and wasn't offended in the slightest. He mostly though bit was ironic considering just a week ago, Harry was the one who begged Draco to kiss his neck.

Harry sighed, "This isn't some one-sided thing. I also come on to him."

_'All I know is that no one will ever be good enough for my son. - Prongs'_  
_'You are aware that Harry isn't perfect? He's a little shithead and you know this, you know he's a dick. - Padfoot'_  
_'I witnessed it firsthand. Harry's a dick. - Moony'_

"First of all, I'm literally right here. Secondly, you're not wrong. Not only am I just an arse, but I've also almost murdered people. I'm terrible in just about every respect."

Draco has been waiting his entire life to finally have a group of people who talked shit about Harry like he did. Now that he finally had it, he was having the time of his life.

_'So nobody is on my side then? Even my own son has betrayed me. - Prongs'_

Draco saw his chance, so he took it. "I agree with you Mr. Potter. I think Harry is waaay out of my league and far too perfect for me."

"Draco, shut the fuck up." Harry scolded.

He ignored Harry and introduced himself. "Draco Malfoy, at your service, sir."

"Shut. Up."

"No. Fuck off." He mocked.

_'At least someone is on my side. Fuck off, Harry. - Prongs'_  
_'Oh, but I'M not allowed to curse around Harry! Fuck off, James. - Padfoot'_  
_'Hello Draco, I hope you're doing well. - Moony'_

"Hey, Mr. Lupin. I've been hanging out with Teddy a lot, he looks just like you."

_'I hear you've also been teaching him French and you're in line to inherit the hospital wing at Hogwarts. I always knew you'd make something good of yourself. - Moony'_

"Really?" He sounded genuinely confused. "I was under the impression that you hated me."

_'Draco, you were a child and heavily pressured into the life you had. I couldn’t really blame you. But despite all of that, you were never the same as the adults. I always knew you were different. - Moony'_

"I-" He cut himself off and smiled, "Thank you Mr. Lupin, that really means a lot to me."

_'Call me Remus. - Moony'_  
_'Hey cousin. - Padfoot'_

"Sirius! How have you been?" Even though they had never properly met, he knew a lot about Sirius. "Andromeda used to tell me all about you all the time when she babysat me."

_'She did? - Padfoot'_

He didn't think Draco would know anything about him.

"Yea, she would talk about you all the time." He bit his lip. "She knew you were innocent, she always did. I think everyone knew you were, but she was the only one who said it out loud. Even my mum would scoff whenever she saw articles about how you had escaped and were a dangerous criminal. I only had Andromeda's stories to go off of, but I never thought you really could have done it."

_'Andromeda and Narcissa thought I was innocent? I didn't think anyone believed me. - Padfoot'_

It was a bit of a hard topic because even Remus believed Sirius was guilty until that fateful night in the Shrieking Shack.

"Andromeda told me once that you were far too clever for Azkaban. I think she always knew you'd escape. When you did, no one was surprised. I suppose I wasn't either because I was always taught that it would eventually happen."

_'What happened to Bellatrix after the war? - Padfoot'_

Draco knew Bellatrix was the one that killed him. He bit his lip. "Uh, well she almost killed Ginny Weasley, so Mrs. Weasley called her a bitch and killed her. She died in the Battle of Hogwarts only moments before Harry killed Voldemort."

_’Okay. - Padfoot’_

He’d been in need of some closure. It wasn’t that he was upset that he died. The only thing that upset him was that he left Remus and Harry behind. He wanted to make sure Bellatrix didn’t get away with what she had done. He wanted her to either be dead or rotting in Azkaban. But by the same token, she was already insane, he wasn’t sure Azkaban would even faze her. Sirius rarely wished death on anyone, but Bellatrix was an exception.

Harry gulped. “Well, now that that’s out of the way. Time to go. Draco just wanted me to tell you we’re dating and he wanted to meet you lot, which he has, so I suppose it’s time for us t-“

“Why? We’ve nothing better to do. It’s Easter holiday and Hogwarts is barren. There isn’t much to do with people here anyways. Might as well have a chat.”

“Or we could ..... not do that.”

_’Draco, has anyone ever told you about the time Harry got drunk and talked about your hair for a solid sixteen and a half minutes? - Padfoot’_

“No, but someone should.” Draco grew a grin and he became very interested.

“Dammit.” Harry mumbled. This is exactly what he had been hoping to avoid.

_’It was during one of the Order Of The Phoenix meetings. Everyone else had gone and it was just Harry and I. There was some drinking at the meeting and Harry ended up getting drunk. I wasn’t going to let him lose like that, so I kept him behind to make sure he didn’t do something stupid. He started out with a long philippic about how Voldemort is a little bitch. Then, he worked his way through everyone he had a problem with, until he got to you. He had A LOT to say. But by the end of it you sounded more like a minor inconvenience than an actual problem. Then he started talking about your stupid blue eyes, how tall you are, your dumb voice, posh accent, and then he went on a speech about how lovely your hair is. I kept time and by the end of it I was somewhat moved by how poetic he was. - Padfoot’_

Draco grinned, “Oh, have you heard the letters he’s written me?”

“No! We aren’t talking about this!”

“No, let’s discuss it. I’ll get the letters now.”

Harry sputtered for a second, trying to formulate an argument, until he realized what Draco said. “Y-You kept them?”

“Of course I did, Harry. They were the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me. Why would I ever throw them out? They’re beautiful.” He said as he dug through his trunk. He pulled out a black leather-bound journal with the Slytherin symbol on the cover. He opened it up to a bookmarked page and there they were. Every letter Harry had written was pressed into the pages of the journal to keep them all neat and safe.

“I keep yours in the front pocket of my bag.”

Draco chuckled, “You carry them around with you?”

Harry nodded. “I uh. Didn’t have anywhere safe to put them. I figured keeping them with me at all times would be safe.”

“Given your track record, I wouldn’t think so.”

Harry cracked a smile. “Perhaps not. But they’re still there. All of them.”

“You’re so sentimental. You’re worse than a girl, Potter.”

“You. Have. A. Collection. Of. Lotion.”

“Skincare isn’t a joke.”

“You take twenty minutes to get ready every morning.”

Draco scoffed. “Perfection takes time.”

Harry took a deep breath. “Draco, you are such a diva.”

“Filthy peasant.” He threw back.

“Nurse Malfoy.”

“At least I have a job.”

“That ..... That is an excellent point.”

Draco laughed and looked over at Harry with a grin. “You really are lucky you’re cute. Normally I wouldn’t let someone of such a low class even gaze upon my beauty for so long, let alone touch me.”

“I swear I’m going to stab you.”

“Kinky.”

“No. Draco. Why? Why would you say that? Why are you like this?”

“Because I’m a slut, remember?”

Harry let out a sigh. “Merlin.” That was all he could get out. He had nothing else to say for a few moment. Then, he finally said, “I love you.”

Draco beamed and his cheeks went pink. “I love you too, peasant.”

“Said the one with the blush, you’re worse than a girl.” He mocked.

“Mockery is the sincerest form of flattery.”

“Git.”

“Four-eyes.”

Harry busted out laughing. “You haven’t called me that since we were thirteen.”

“Thankfully I stopped. Such a lame insult.”

“It really was. I nearly laughed in your face the first time you call me that.”

Draco tilted his head. “Well that explains why you just smiled and walked away. It really threw me off.”

“Ah, so I should just smile next time you insult me?”

“No, you’re smile is so pretty that it’ll only encourage me.” He winked.

Harry’s cheeks went pink.

Draco smirked. “Who’s blushing now?”

“Maybe you’d be able to see it better if I shave my beard.” He threatened.

“If you shave that thing I’ll hex the daylights out of you! You’ll be in a damn coma until it grows back!” He said firmly, his threat dripping with venom. He really likes the beard.

Harry bit his lip. “You’re so cute when you threaten me.”

“You do remember that your father can hear all of this, right?”

Harry was silent as he stared down at the page.

Laughter. It was full of laughter from Sirius and Remus. But nothing from James.

“Dad?” He questioned. Harry rarely ever used the word. He never had anyone to call dad before, so it felt weird using it even though he was talking to his father.

_’I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I approve. I know you two weren’t looking for my approval but you two fight and quip just like me and Lily. You’re both obviously in love. - Prongs’_

Harry beamed and showed Draco the paper. After rolling his eyes at the laughter, he smiled when he saw what James said.

“Thank you, Mr. Potter. I’m honored.” Draco spoke sincerely.

“Yea, thanks dad.” Harry’s voice was softer. He still felt weird saying the word “dad”. “I think we really ought to go. It’s almost time for dinner and we wouldn’t want to be late.”

They said their goodbyes and Harry put the map away. “Mischief managed.” And with that, it was nothing more than parchment.

Draco flopped back on Harry’s bed. “Your father likes me.” He said with a grin.

“I told you. They all do.”

“Yes, but you telling me and me seeing it for myself are two very different things. Of course I took your word for it. But there was still a bit of uncertainty. I’m glad they’re alright with this.” He paused a moment. “When should we tell our friends?”

“I was thinking maybe we should just make-out in front of them when they come back. Or perhaps if you show up covered in enough hickeys, they’ll get the picture.”

“Or if _you’re_ covered in enough hickeys.”

“Oh, no. You aren’t allowed near my neck again. Not with that mouth. That thing isn’t allowed below my face.”

Draco smirked. “I’ve been told I’m quite talented with it.”

“Too talented. It’s sinful.”

“But I love your pathetic little mewls too much to stop.”

Harry blushed. “I don’t mewl.”

Draco raised an eyebrow and sat up. “Oh, you don’t?”

“Okay, fine, I do. Just keep that thing to yourself. I don’t want to go to dinner with a boner.”

“My mouth could help with that as well.”

Harry’s face went dark red. “Don’t tease me.”

“I’m not, I’m offering.”

Harry looked at Draco with an almost scared expression. He was nervous to say the least. He was insecure. He’s been seen without his shirt on and has no problem with that. But, he was worried about what was in his underwear. Was it too hairy? Not hairy enough? Too small? Too skinny? Too big? Too thick? Misshapen? Strangely colored? What if he smelt bad? There were too many uncertainties. He wanted to. He wanted to do filthy things with Draco and he wanted it bad. But he was cripplingly insecure.

Draco blinked and his expression changed to one of concern. “Hey, it’s alright. We don’t have to do anything you aren’t comfortable with. If I say something that upsets you just tell me to back off. I will and it won’t offend me to say no. Say it any time you want, I won’t be upset.”

“It isn’t that.” Harry sighed. “I want to. It, it’s tempting, to say the least. I’m just not ready for that. Being nude. In front of you.”

Draco let a soft smile take over his face. “Harry, you can’t possibly tell me your insecure. I’ve seen you in your boxer-briefs. Believe me when I say _that_ is the most sinful thing in this room.”

Harry cracked a smile. “It isn’t that either. I.” He sighed. “It’s what’s under that. I’ve never been fully nude in front of anyone. I just. I don’t know. No one has ever seen that. I’m hesitant.”

“Harry, I’ve seen many pricks in my life. I’ve seen some good ones, some average ones, and some disgusting ones. But every single one of them has been inside of me, one way or another.”

“You, you’re such a slut. Genuinely. You’re a slut.”

“Yes. I know, Harry. I’m a slut, I’m a deprived slut, I’m your deprived slut. But every pathetic mewl I get out of you makes it better.”

Harry crossed his arms. “Alright, I might mewl, but it certainly isn’t pathetic.”

“Do not tempt me, Harry.”

“But I’m right!”

“Incorrect.”

“No, it isn’t pathetic.”

Draco shifted so his body faced Harry’s. “I will pounce on you right now and prove my point.”

Harry opened up his arms. “Go ahead. I know I’m right.” He obviously wasn’t thinking about the consequences of such a challenge.

Draco crawled on top of Harry and kissed just under his ear.

“Shit.” Harry’s back arched up and he raised his hips a bit, already wanting friction.

“But I’m the desperate one.” Draco mumbled and rolled his eyes as he covered Harry’s neck in kisses. He occasionally nipped and sucked at spots that were particularly sensitive.

Harry’s noises were soft and desperate. His hips occasionally jerked as electricity rushed down his spine. “Okay! I’m pathetic! I’m absolutely pathetic, Draco.”

Draco smirked as he switched to the other side of Harry’s neck. “You’re only tempting me to continue. I like you wound up and needy.” Harry’s moans we’re driving him insane. He loved how unfiltered they were. Harry didn’t put on fake moans to try and sound sexy, he was genuinely unable to hold back.

Harry squirmed and let out a soft cry when the other side of his neck was teased for the first time. “So good.”

Draco could feel Harry harden under him. “Tell me about how I’m right and I’ll consider stopping before you’re throbbing in your pants.” He wanted to hear how desperate Harry was for mercy. All his life he never really got the upper-hand over Harry. Now he had it in the most delicious way possible. He couldn’t help but to relish in what he has.

“You are! You’re right! I sound pathetic. Fuck I don’t want you to stop. I want to cum.”

Draco raised an eyebrow. “Oh? By yourself, or would you like some help.”

“I don’t like doing it by myself. But, I’m nervous. I’m really not sure I’m ready for something like that.”

Draco considered their options and remembered something. “Well, I do know a few spells.”

Harry let out a laugh. “Your kinky spells? This again?”

“Harry, they’re real and very serious. Give me permission and I’ll show you.”

Harry couldn’t deny that he was interested. “What will this theoretical spell do?”

“It’ll make you cum in under a minute.”

Harry let out a laugh. He didn’t know why, but he couldn’t take the idea of sex spells seriously. “You know what, sure. Go ahead.”

“Harry, I’m being serious. I need you to really agree to this.”

He looked Draco in his eyes. “Do it, seriously.”

Draco pulled out his wand and moved to sit beside Harry. He looked at Harry once more, silently asking for confirmation.

“Go ahead, it’s okay.”

Draco nodded. He started saying an unfamiliar spell, made a motion with his wand, and aimed at Harry.

Harry smirked when he didn’t feel anything. “See, I knew you had to be messing with me.” He opened his mouth to say something else, but he was suddenly overtaken by a rush of pleasure.

His eyes widened and his lips parted as a loud and unfiltered groan rolled from his throat. There was a constant pleasure in his pants, buzzing around, unceasing. It only got stronger and stronger.

Harry’s back arched sharply and he gripped the sheets, frozen for a moment. Then, he shattered. He began to writhe around, his thighs started to shake and his hips jerked and bucked, as if his body demanded more but didn’t know how to cope with what it had. His eyes squeezed shut and his eyebrows furrowed.

He moaned out for Draco. Loud and guttural. His moans bounced off the walls and filled the room. He could hardly get any words out besides Draco’s name. He was panting and every exhale was a new noise. Sometimes moans, sometimes whimpers, and other times he chanted the blonde’s name.

He was loud and shaking, but the pleasure only grew and showed him no mercy. It was too much for his inexperienced body to handle.

Draco could tell how intense it was for Harry and despite how incredibly arousing it was, he pitied Harry. He laid down and wrapped his arms around the trembling brunette.

The moment he felt physical contact his body thought it to be a source of relief. He gripped Draco’s shirt and buried his face in his chest. “I-I’m gonna cum! Draco!” His hips bucked and once he felt the friction of rubbing himself against Draco’s thigh, he lost it. He was incoherent and drowning in the pleasure. He humped Draco’s thigh as quickly as he could, but it still did nothing to relieve the still-growing pleasure. “Ahh! Too much! I can’t!” But the smile he was moaning through told a different story.

Draco felt like he was going to explode. He had Harry, his Harry, his sweet and innocent Harry, in his arms, humping his thigh, about to cum in his pants, moaning his name, all because of a spell Draco had cast. It was gorgeous.

“More! Yes! Draco!” His body shook in Draco’s arms, he gripped Draco’s shirt tighter, and his hips had become a quivering mess but he still rubbed himself against Draco’s thigh. He needed it too bad to feel embarrassed. The magic forced Harry to let out another moan before his body finally reached its limit and gave it.

“Draco!” He gasped out the blonde’s name before his body stilled and his mouth opened in a silent cry. He was motionless and quiet for a few seconds before he descended into a trembling mess. His hips stuttered and his mind was completely overloaded by the feeling of release. A loud moan tore from his throat as he came in his pants.

He blushed, panting and looking Draco in his eyes as he felt the last of himself gushing out of the tip of his cock.

The moment of eye contact nearly stole Draco’s breath. Pleasure was written all-over Harry’s face and it hadn’t even been forty seconds since Draco cast the spell.

Draco could practically see in Harry’s eyes that he was still cumming in his pants. He could see the moment it ended.

Harry’s green eyes had become dark with lust, as deep and dark as a forest at midnight. Usually they were vibrant and soft like a Zinnia. It was an amazing contrast. He was sweating and panting. His wild hair was everywhere and he looked absolutely pitiful.

He finally caught his breath and Draco was still in shock. Harry was so beautiful, loud, and helpless when he was wrapped in an overwhelming pleasure like that. Draco would do anything to see it again. “You humped my leg.”

Harry looked at Draco sheepishly. “Sorry about that.”

“Don’t be. Do it whenever you want.” He smirked, “That was the most arousing display I have ever seen.”

Harry blushed and put on a coy smile. “Oh, thank you.”

“I could feel you cumming against my thigh. I could feel how even your dick twitched and seemed to tremble at your orgasm. It was so cute. You couldn’t handle it, could you? It really was too much for your little body, but you wanted every bit of it and more.”

Harry bit his lip and looked away before giving a slow nod. “Y-Yea. I did. I needed to cum. I could hardly control myself.”

“You’re an animal, Harry. A filthy animal. Humping my leg like that, how lewd.”

Harry’s coy expression changed to a smirk. It was as if he suddenly understood. “Oh, so that’s your kink, is it?”

“What?”

“You were brought up to be all prim and proper, and you enjoy it. You like being upper class, rich, posh. But you have a kink for the improper, savage animals of men. Is that what you want, then? For me to take you like that, like an animal? I’d have you like a decorated whore.”

Draco’s aura of superiority didn’t falter for a second. “You’re half-right.” He said in a teasing tone. “I do have a thing for, the savage animals of men. But I don’t need to be taken. No. I know my place, and that’s on top. I want to tame you. _That_ is my kink.” He tilted his head. “But don’t play innocent with me, Harry. I’ve known your sick fantasy for a while now.”

“And what is that?”

“You said it yourself, I’m posh. You want to have me like a decorated whore. You think my elegance and superiority is sexy. I remember you told Pansy you like when I dress nice. My suits, jewelry, embellishments, how prim and polished I am, you find it to be alluring.”

Harry crossed his arms and looked away with pink cheeks. Draco was right. But denial is the best medicine. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“I’d put money on you having a kink for my poshness.”

“Seriously?”

“I’ll bet it’s more than my appearance. It’s the way I act too. Even if I’m wrong, I have money to spend.”

“I’m richer than you, by millions.”

Draco rolled his eyes. “Doesn’t matter when I have class and you don’t. You’re a peasant, Harry.”

Harry huffed and closed his eyes.

“Well don’t fall asleep now. It’s time for dinner.”

“Already? Bu-I-“ He cut himself off and motioned to his pants. He was still laying in a pool of his own cum.

Draco smirked. “Mmm? Sucks for you. Come on.” He said, standing up.

Harry got up and let out a gasp as his legs nearly gave out under him. He braced himself and held onto the bed, trying to stay up. When his legs finally got working right, he turned towards his dresser and pulled out some new underwear.

“Sod off, Draco. I’m changing.” He said as he walked into the bathroom.

“You look like a baby deer trying to walk for the first time.”

Harry rolled his eyes and changed his underwear. He came out on much steadier legs and they went to eat together.

Little did Harry realize, there was a reddish-purple mark on the side of his neck. But everyone else did.


	28. Learn To Be Free

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry looks for a house, Draco spends the day with his mother.

That Saturday, Draco went to hang out with his mother. They mostly walked around shops together and spoke about their lives. She was excited to finally hear that Draco and Harry are together, she also insisted that Draco bring Harry along next month. She finalized her plans to make Draco her sole beneficiary and considered talking to Andromeda. She wanted to rekindle their relationship and get to know Teddy. Although her and Andromeda will never see eye-to-eye on everything, they’re sisters, and she wants to have a relationship.

Harry was writing letters back and forth with his friends. A lot had happened in the last week. Hermione was offered an internship under Minister Kingsley Shacklebolt, Professor Sprout offered Neville a position as her assistant in the Herbology Department, his girlfriend Hannah got herself an interview for a minor position in the Ministry, Ron was accepted into the training program to be an Auror, Pansy was offered a position to train for her dream job in the Improper Uses Of Magic Office, and Dean and Seamus’ applications for the Department Of Magical Sports and Games were approved.

Their futures had finally begun.

Harry had also begun looking at houses. Hermione’s landlady was half-blood but grew up in Muggle society before going to Hogwarts. Now her clients were both Muggle and wizard. She had a website with the properties she owned on it, and a special secondary website for wizard clientele. Really it was for half-blood or muggle-born clients as they would be the only ones to know what the internet is.

While Draco was off with his mother, Harry went to the closest Muggle town and found himself at the library. He changed into “street clothes”, things he would never wear at Hogwarts. A loose white tee shirt, Sirius’ leather jacket, his mother’s necklace, black jeans that fit him well, and dark brown boots. He looked like he belonged in a rock band.

He used the computers at the library to look over the properties the landlady owned. Some were in Muggle society, others were surprisingly close to Hogwarts. He looked at her properties in Scotland. He was interested in something fairly close to Hogwarts, but still a bit isolated as he wanted to have his own little piece of the world.

He searched her website and found a few places he was interested in. He wrote down the locations he liked and went back to Hogwarts.

He sat at the desk in his room and wrote a simple letter. He introduced himself, told her about the properties he was interested in, and asked about seeing them in person.

He received a letter back only a few hours later.

Arachne Chutz, the landlady, invited him to see her properties next weekend and he quickly wrote out a letter accepting the offer.

He felt like a real adult. He was making big decisions and he felt like he was really making strides in his life. He was guaranteed his job at a Hogwarts, and he was actually already working on his application, he was looking at houses, and he got himself a boyfriend. Things were looking up for him and for the first time, he wasn’t worried about it. He wasn’t afraid that someone was going to come along and completely derail his life, or that he was going to die sometime soon, he had a sense of security and purpose. He didn’t feel like a fool for being hopeful, he let himself have high hopes for the future. He was excited for it.

He glanced at the time and realized it was only a little past lunch. He still had the whole afternoon to himself as Draco wouldn’t be back until after dinner.

Draco was having an amazing time with his mother.

Ever since the Battle of Hogwarts, Draco’s life had completely rearranged itself.

He spent most of his summer in jail, a lot of toxic people were cut out of his life, some of his few genuine friends transferred to other schools, and he lost a lot of his family to Azkaban and death. He was sad at all he had lost at first. It was weird being back at Hogwarts. Although most of his friends weren’t really his friends, he was still sad to see them transfer, die, or end up in Azkaban. Even if they were toxic, they were regular parts of his life and he felt alone without them.

But with all of that over and done, he was much better by October. After the first month, he became much closer to the friends that had stayed. Usually, going out and shopping or to a dinner party with his friends was how he had a good time. But there was less of that since everyone had lost a lot of people.

With his mother, he felt like he had that again. They were off eating at nice restaurants all day and shopping around. It was wonderful and relaxing. Draco indulged himself in charmeuse, suede, silk, chiffon, lace, and satin. He had an obvious preference for sheer and light fabrics, but he’ll always have a weak spot for suede. He looked like an elf prince from a fantasy movie, but he didn’t know that.

Lunch was grand and fun. Quail eggs, cheeses, caviar, salmon, and wine. For dessert, they had tiramisu, Draco’s only weakness.

His mother was overjoyed to hear that he and Harry we’re finally together. She insisted that next month, Draco bring Harry along. Albeit reluctantly, Draco did agree. He wanted Harry and his mother to meet and get along. He knew it would be more complicated than it was for Draco and James. James wasn’t there for the war, his mother was, and she stood for her family and nothing else. He wasn’t worried they would hate each other, he was only concerned that memories of the war would ruin it what could be.

While they shopped, they were eventually spotted by some paparazzi.

Since he was off Hogwarts grounds, Draco was wearing what he would consider “street clothes”. It was a sharp contrast from Harry. He does a slightly sheer, light brown shirt with a deep v-neck. It showed off his chest and what was covered could still be slightly seen. His dress pants were white and his shoes were deep green, of course. He looked absolutely delicious and the photographers were eating it up.

Of course Narcissa had see him in magazines, newspapers, and tabloids. She thought it was hilarious and adorable that he had become a celebrity. She offered no help when he was hounded by the paparazzi and instead, giggled at him while they hurried away. She thought it was amazing how he’d become famous for such a good reason. Pure bloods weren’t typically famous for just being so. The wizarding world has their own celebrities who were famous for their own reasons. Blood rarely had anything to do with it. For her son to gain fame for doing good warmed her heart.

But it’ll never not be funny to watch him run away from photographers. She wasn’t even worried that Lucius would see the pictures. In fact, she was counting on it. She wanted him to know that from now on, he can’t control her, she will always do as she pleases and if she has to die, she will die a free woman, and there isn’t a damn thing he can do to stop her.

Running away from paparazzi with her son, laughing and hurrying along, she had never been so free.

They ran off into a shop and found themselves catching their breath and giggling together. They were close before, but until now, they had never been so genuinely themselves. Of course they were still posh and high class, but running around and laughing would have never been appropriate.

They tried on clothes and looked at jewelry. While looking at some bracelets, Narcissa noticed Draco’s. Silver and sparkly with charms of different flowers made in great detail.

“Oh, when did you get this?” She asked as she admired the bracelet.

“Christmas.”

She looked down a moment, still feeling guilty about that.

“Harry gave it to me.” He mentioned with a soft smile. “His mother had a silver necklace with a lily charm on it. Her name was Lily, and Harry’s father James gave it to her. Harry found the necklace earlier this year when he went through the things they left behind. He hasn’t taken it off since. He gave me this bracelet so we could match. He told me Christmas is when he realized he loves me.”

Narcissa gave a small smile. She admired how real Lily and James’ love was. She admired how real Draco and Harry’s love is. It was something she knew she’ll never had. She did love Lucius once, and he loved her money and power. She made her mistakes, but she would never let Draco do as she or Lucius did. That mattered more to her than bloodlines or appearance. “You love him. You really love each other. It’s so genuine and true, a lot of people in our old circles never had that. Everyone always married for money and power. Don’t be like us, please. If you really love this boy, I want you to be with him. As long as you love him, I’ll always wish you both the best.”

Draco looked up to meet her eye. He never would have thought she would sincerely approve of something so unlike how they were raised. “Really?”

“You have something I never will. I want you to have it. I would never dream of ruining that for you. Be with him Draco, be happy. That’s all I want for you. You were all that ever really mattered to me. I want you to be better than we ever were. You have Harry, your friends, Teddy. They make you happy, you love and care for all of them, that’s enough. I’m proud of you, Draco. I’m so proud. You did what you felt was right no matter the consequences, you did what I never could. Merlin, I’m so proud. So go be happy. That’s all I want.”

Draco felt like he could cry. Narcissa had always been a tough woman. She had never been so open with him. But now, here she was, telling him how proud of him she was, telling him she wanted him to be happy, approving of everything he’d ever done. “I love you, too.” He pointed out.

Narcissa let out a soft laugh. “And I love you, Draco. Never forget that.”

“I won’t.” He glanced around and then pulled her aside, away from everyone else. He had to talk to her while he had this moment. He had to tell her everything. She had to know.

“I want you to be happy too, and I know my father will never make you happy. He doesn’t love you, maybe he did, maybe he didn’t, but he doesn’t now. You deserve better than that. You deserve so much more. I want you to be okay. I don’t want to worry that you’ll die in that loveless marriage, miserable. He’s my father, I love him, but he isn’t good. I want you to rebuild your relationship with your sister, to meet Teddy, meet Harry, I want you to be happy. I wish you could run away with us and be in our little family.”

Narcissa smiled. The idea sounded so lovely and warm to her. It made her want to run away and never go back to that house. But it wouldn’t be that easy. Nothing will ever be so simple for her. “You have no idea how wonderful that sounds to me. It sounds so nice and warm. But I may never have that. I’ve made my choices Draco, I’ve lived my life. I may not have lived it well, maybe I never lived at all, but I did it. It’s over for me, please. Don’t worry about me. Know that if you’re happy, then I have absolutely no regrets. You’re the best thing I’ve ever done. You have no idea how proud I am of you. Go be happy. I’ll be alright.”

Now Draco couldn’t stop the few tears that fell from his eyes. He wasn’t crying, but he was overflowing with emotion. “I believe you. I do. If you say you’ll be alright, then I trust that. But that won’t stop me from wanting something better for you.” He knew there wasn’t much he could do. His mother didn’t want any more drama or scandals. He knew she wanted a simple life from now on. She wanted to live quietly and die in peace. He wouldn’t do anything to sabotage that for her. But he would still do what he could. “Andromeda still lives in her old house. You should write her a letter sometime. I know she’d like to hear from you. She cares about you. She asks about you. She wants you to be happy too.” He paused a moment and wiped his eyes. “You both have lost so much. I think talking to each other would make you both a lot happier. You both deserve that much, at least.”

Narcissa knew exactly what he was trying to do. She thought a moment, weighing what a letter to her sister could do. There was a chance Andromeda wouldn’t respond, there was a chance that she would. There was a chance Lucius would find out, there was a number of reactions he could have to something like that.

Draco saw the struggle inside of her. He saw it all. “I’ve never seen you so happy and free until today. I want you to feel this way all the time. Don’t think about it so much. If you want to do it, do it. Do it for yourself. Don’t worry about anyone else. Please.”

A brief second of eye contact and she saw how much this meant to Draco. She saw how he cared so much about her and her happiness, more than anyone else ever did. “Okay.” She owed him this much for showing her how to be free.

Draco’s concerned expression was overcome by a broken-hearted smile. “Thank you.”

Draco defied everything he had been taught and did what he felt was right, even though he knew he may die if he were caught. Even though he thought nobody would support him. He couldn’t kill, he couldn’t hurt, he couldn’t maim. He couldn’t do anything he was told to do by his friends and family. He fell in love with someone he once despised. He gained friends and family that really did love him. He was a bluebird. Happy and free, but still as elegant as he was born to be.

Narcissa hoped she could learn to be free too.

Even if it killed her.


	29. You Smell Like Smoke So Let’s Start A Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Draco and Harry return to their dorm from their days out, and of course, one of them just can’t keep it in his pants.

Draco ended up being the first in their dorm that night. He was immensely happy with how the day had gone. He felt like he really helped his mother. He felt at peace with everything in his life. It was a phenomenal feeling.

He sat down on his bed and smiled to himself.

Then Harry bursted through the door like the walking beam of chaos he is.

His white tee shirt was filthy, his necklace was still shiny, his leather jacket was tight on his body, black pants fit just as well, and black scuffed up boots. His hair just as dark and messy as the rest of him, his face covered in soot and sweat, and it was decorated with a few new scratches. He was a mess. But his smile was bright and glowing. He smelled like fire, smoke, and ash.

Draco quickly sat up, surprised by the sudden entrance. His shirt was a sheer light brown with a deep v-neck, completely showing himself off. His pants were white and his shoes were a deep green. His bracelet was shining on his wrist and his beach blonde hair was fixed up and nice. He smelled like the expensive French cologne he’s used for three years now.

They were complete and total opposites.

“Harry, what have you done to yourself?!”

“It was great! I spent the afternoon with Hagrid. He spends a surprising amount of time looking around the black market for rare animals. He often buys them so he can save them and give them better homes. Today, he got himself a Hippogriff. I got to name her! Her name is Blue and I love her. I gave her a bath, I fed her, she loves me, we wrestled, and then I helped Hagrid take her to his friend’s place in Ireland where she’ll live on this big ranch. It was so cool!”

Draco blinked a few times in shock. His mouth opened and closed, his lips tried to form words but nothing happened for a moment. “Alright. But why do you look and smell like you were near a fire?”

“Oh! I made another withdrawal from the bank and all that. I also had to burn a few things to cover Hagrid and I’s tracks, given that we were dealing on the black market.”

“You could have gotten yourself killed doing something like that.”

“But I didn’t.” He pointed out.

“How did no one recognize you?”

“Glamour.” He shrugged.

Draco paused a moment and looked Harry up and down once more. This time his eyes were glazed over with suspicion. “Only fairies can use glamour.” It wasn’t a type of magic that humans could use. But faes were naturals at it, they invented it.

Harry’s features were taken over by a nervous smile. “Well, I do extensively study the dark arts. And the restricted section has some very interesting forms of magic. Including things that a human shouldn’t be able to do, but can if they know a few little tricks.”

“You’ve been messing around with the dark arts?! Seriously?! Harry you absolute git! Are you so dense? You were lucky to survive the war, and now you want to go on and mess around with something like that! Merlin, why?”

”But, they were hurting her. I had to help her.” Harry saw absolutely nothing wrong with what he did and he would do it again. They both knew this.

Draco took a deep breath. He knew Harry’s past. He knew Harry probably saw himself in Blue. He knew that Harry had no regrets. “I’m glad you helped her. But please don’t make this a regular thing. Instead, tell the authorities about the location of this black market so they can stop it and you can be safe. Harry, we’re so lucky to be alive. Can you see that? I don’t want to worry about you getting yourself killed.”

Harry understood. He really did. He looked down a moment. “Fine. I won’t make this a regular thing, and I’ll talk to Hagrid about telling the proper authorities. But you know I don’t regret what I did.”

“Good.” He cracked a small smile. “You wouldn’t be you if you did.” He fell in love with Harry. Every part of Harry. Including the part that would put his life on the line to save others. Even if it was annoying and worrisome.

”I love you, Harry.”

Harry looked up and smiled. A blush could be seen peaking out through the soot and beard on his face.

“You’re worse than a girl.”

Harry rolled his eyes. “Big talk from such a pretty boy.” His eyes raked over his boyfriend. “You dress like a slut, Malfoy.”

“I’m just being myself. You look like a heathen for the same reason.”

He smirked at the blonde. “But you love it.”

Harry walked over to his bed and he grabbed his pajama pants. “I’m going to take a shower.”

“Need any help?”

Harry blushed darker and smiled. “No, thank you.”

“One day you’ll say yes, Potter.”

“Probably, but not today, Malfoy.” He called back as he walked into the bathroom.

He showered and put his pajama pants on. He still smelled slightly like smoke, but it was mixed in with his natural scent.

He came out in his pajama pants and with damp skin. He looked gorgeous.

“Merlin.” Draco sighed out as he looked at Harry.

Harry’s face went red yet again and he quickly walked over to his bed. “Really, Draco?”

Draco smirked and winked. “I can’t help it.”

“You can. You chose to do that.”

“Harry, when will you understand how attractive you are?”

Harry rolled his eyes and put his towel away. He laid down on his own bed and Draco turned to look at him with a huff.

“Why are you over there?”

”This is my bed.” Harry answered with a small smile, already knowing where the conversation was going.

“So? You should be in my bed.”

“And why is that?”

“Because I was laying down first, therefore, you should come to my bed. Had you been laying first, I would have gotten into yours. We’re going to end up in the same bed anyways, and now you’re making me have to get up.”

“You’re absolutely pathetic.”

“Perhaps. But at least I’m not as pathetic as your mewls when you cum.”

Harry was red once more and he curled up, facing away from Draco. “That’s so embarrassing. Shut the fuck up, Draco. I can’t help it.”

“Oh? So you’re naturally so pathetic? So virginal and righteous that you can’t handle how it feels to cum? You should have seen yourself. Shaking and trembling, your hips were moving so fast, you were like a rabbit in heat. So innocent, but you wanted it so bad. Absolutely pathetic.”

“And you’re any better?” Harry fired back.

“What?” Draco sat up and looked over at Harry in shock. He couldn’t believe Harry would say such a thing.

‘Don’t act all high and mighty, Malfoy. Are you any better? Or are you just as pathetic as me?”

“I happen to have class, Potter.”

Harry sat up and looked at Draco with determined eyes. “And would you be so eloquently spoken if I got my hands in your pants?”

Harry didn’t blush, but Draco did.

“H-Harry, shut up! You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“No, I think I do. In fact, I’ll bet you’re even more pathetic than me.”

“That’s a bet you’d lose.” Draco challenged.

Harry looked him up and down. “What would you be willing to put on the line for it, then?”

Draco saw his opportunity and took it. “My arse.”

“W-What?” Harry was quite bewildered and unsure if he heard Draco correctly.

Draco winked. “You heard me.”

“Are you trying to kill me?”

Draco let out a laugh and shook his head. “And you wonder why I”m so confident, you make it easy. But then again, with my arse on the line, it’s tempting to lose.”

“I think you highly overestimate everything about me.” Harry didn’t understand why Draco would want someone as inexperienced as him near his arse.

“Oh, you wouldn’t have to do anything. I’ll just ride you.”

Harry choked. He physically choked on air. He started coughing and couldn’t stop a moment. When he finally collected himself he looked at Draco with wide eyes. “St-Stop that.” He was two seconds from a boner. It was all too much.

Draco raised an eyebrow. “Stop what?”

“S-Saying you’re going to do things like that to me.”

“Is it turning you on?”

Harry crossed his arms and rolled his eyes. “Yes.”

“But I love it when you’re turned on. The best things happen when you’re turned on. Don’t you remember just a few days ago when you humped my thigh until you came in your pants? We could always do that again.”

“Goodnight. Draco.”

The blonde rolled his eyes. “One day, I’m going to ride the hell out of you.”

“Draco!”

“Say my name again.” He smirked.

“You’re insatiable.”

“Perhaps.”

Harry laid there a moment before he realized what was wrong. Draco was a horny slut, but not enough that he would suggest such filthy things. Harry looked over at Draco with suspicious eyes. “You’re hard, aren’t you?”

Draco gulped and his cheek went red. “Yes.” He said through gritted teeth.

“How?” Harry giggled as if he were twelve and anything involving a dick was hilarious.

“How do you think?” He crossed his arms. “It all started when I saw you shirtless. Then you opened your big mouth and suddenly we were talking about how I was going to ride you.”

Harry blinked a few times. “First of all, no. _You_ opened your mouth and started up the conversation, _you_ bet your arse that you aren’t as pathetic as me when you cum, and _you_ threatened to ride me. You did literally all of this.”

Draco rolled his eyes. “I only did it because you walked out here without a shirt, in your pajama pants, with no underwear. Don’t play innocent with me, Potter, I‘ve known for months now that you don’t wear underwear to bed.”

Harry shifted a bit and used his duvet to cover his bottom half, embarrassed. “Does, does that usually excite you?”

“A bit, yea. It’s sexy, I can’t help it.”

“Why?”

Draco huffed. “You’re so dense, Potter. It’s sexy because you’re making yourself so accessible. Your pants are so lose, it would be so easy to slip inside. You’ve no idea how tempting you are. It drives me crazy!”

Harry smirked, feeling a bit confident in himself. “Well. Maybe, if you came over here, I could help you out.”

Draco wasted no time and ended up tackling Harry, who yelped in response. Harry ended up rolling them over and pinning Draco down in an act of panic and self-defense.

Draco looked up at Harry and bit his lip. “Ooh, kinky.”

Harry immediately let Draco go and rolled his eyes. “Now then, let’s see if you really are pathetic.” He said as reached for Draco’s waist. He rested his hands there and looked up at Draco, silently asking for permission.

Draco licked his lips. “You can do anything you want to me, Harry. But remember, this isn’t my first time, far from it. I‘ve learned self-control. So don’t be surprised when I’m not nearly as bad as you.”

Harry knew he wasn’t up to par with half of Draco’s previous lovers, but he took it in stride. “I suggest you be nicer to me, or I’ll learn to play with dick elsewhere.”

He rolled his eyes. “Big talk from a virgin.”

“Big talk for someone who’s arse is on the line.”

“We’ll see.” His arrogance was taking over.

Harry undid Draco’s pants and pulled them down. While Harry was in the shower, Draco had taken his shoes off, so Harry decided to just pull Draco’s pants off all the way and discard them on the floor.

“Hey! Those are white and worth more than your life!”

Harry rolled his eyes and picked Draco’s pants up off the floor and tossed them onto Draco’s bed. “Complain again and I’ll stop.”

That shut Draco up pretty fast.

Harry looked down and was greeted by satin underwear. It took a lot of self-control not to make a comment. He decided to start with what he knew how to do. He set his hand over Draco’s bulge and gently rubbed it.

“Oh, fuck.” Draco said, lifting up his hips for more. “I didn’t think you’d go for it.”

Harry smirked. “It’s a bit easier when I’m not the one being touched.” His confidence was doubled what it usually was when they were in bed like this.

He made sure his hand was heavy and so Draco could get all the friction he needed. It must have worked because only seconds later, Draco was grinding onto his hand and panting, silently impressed by how Harry so thoughtlessly went for it.

Harry then let his fingers slip under the waistband on Draco’s underwear and he looked up, asking for permission.

Draco bit his lip and smirked. “Do as you please.” He’ll never admit how charming Harry’s requests for permission were.

Harry removed Draco’s underwear, and discarded it on the floor just to be a dick. He could see Draco biting back a complaint.

Even though they had only been dating about a week, it felt like they had been together for months. Despite that, Harry was a bit intimidated by what he saw. He could now say that every inch of Draco’s body was pretty.

Somehow, even the short blonde hair was just as pale and soft as the hair up top. Draco was absolutely angelic. Pallid with a pinkish-brown tip, everything about Draco was so dulcet and gentle. Even like this, wound up and eager, he was still somehow so pastel and sweet.

Draco expertly posed himself, throwing an arm over his face and turning his thighs out to show himself off. He knew what he was doing, Harry knew it too.

Harry let out a quiet, almost breathless, chuckle. “You’re absolutely stunning. I could marvel at your beauty all day.”

“As beautiful as it is when you wax poetic, now really isn’t the time. I’m certain you can find something a bit more helpful to do with your mouth.” He suggested.

Harry rolled his eyes and reached down to finally touch Draco. It was then he noticed his hand was shaking.

Draco noticed too.

“Harry, we don’t have to do this if you don’t want to. It’s okay.” He wanted Harry to be comfortable with everything they did.

Harry looked up and gave a coy smile. “I want to. I just, don’t know what I’m doing.”

Draco raised an eyebrow. “I could guide you, if you think that would help.”

“It couldn’t hurt.”

Draco propped himself up on an elbow and he cupped Harry’s hand with his own, bringing it closer. Words couldn’t describe how sexy he found Harry’s innocence to be. He wrapped Harry’s hand around his length and the warmth made him let out a soft sigh. It felt nice.

“Alright, grip it, just a bit tighter.”

Harry did as he was told.

“Just like that. Now, up and down. Please.”

Harry let a smirk fall onto his face as he did as instructed. He moved up and down at a slow pace, wanting to test the waters a bit.

Draco wasn’t lying when he said he’d learned self-control. He could go the entire session without responding or making a sound. But he didn’t want to. He wanted Harry to know how good he felt. He knew Harry needed it. So what if he lost the bet, losing just means he gets to ride away Harry’s virginity, it’s a win-win situation for him.

Harry bit his lip as he watched Draco let out heavy breaths in an attempt to keep his resolve. He saw it as a challenge. He wanted to see Draco’s resolution crumble. He needed to see Draco broken by pleasure. He craved the sights and sounds of a man who’s will has caved in on itself.

He continued to please Draco, and let his other hand begin to roam. He cupped Draco’s cheek and stroked it with the pad of his thumb. His eyes went to the blonde’s pink and plump lips that were taking in and exhaling ragged breaths. He slid his thumb down to play with his lower lip. He drug Draco’s lower lip down and then let it fall back into place. Gorgeous.

He played with Draco’s lips a moment before leaning down to kiss the boy. It was a soft and sweet kiss, but it took away Draco’s ability to hide his sounds with panting. He was forced to let out a whine against Harry’s lips.

Harry pulled away with a smirk and he let his lips ghost over Draco’s as he spoke. “You taste like coffee.” It was from the tiramisu he had earlier. “I wonder if you’re just as sweet down here.” He gave two fast strokes to emphasize his point.

Draco nearly growled and he bucked his hips at the attention. His eyes rolled back and he moaned out his words. “Oh, Harry.”

Harry’s breath hicked. His eyes were wide with bewildered and his heart thudded, the moan punched him in the gut and stole the air from his lungs, his cheeks flushed. He’s never heard someone moan his name before. It gave him a sense of approval.

Draco smirked through his gasps and he knew exactly what the moan had done to Harry. So he let more out. “So good, Harry. You’re doing so good.” He rolled his hips in time with Harry’s hand.

Harry blinked a few times in surprise and he let his hand explore some more. It went lower to caress Draco’s chest. He let his fingers drag across Draco’s body, his rough skin teasing the softer below him. He left a trail of tingling flame in the wake of his fingertips and it made Draco shiver as a smile crept onto his face. He was having the time of his life. He was basking and glowing with all the attention. He was the center of Harry’s world and he loved it.

It was no secret he was a bit of an attention whore.

“Touch me, Harry. Touch me more.” He moaned as he gently set his hand on top of Harry’s. He slowly guided Harry’s hand towards his nipple.

Harry got the picture and he used the pad of his thumb to rub the pinkish-brown nub. He felt Draco’s length twitch from all the attention his body was receiving. He took that as a reason to pick up the pace a bit, which made Draco let out a throaty whine and roll his hips in time to Harry’s strokes.

Draco’s eyes rolled back and he continued to pant, but every exhale was another hungry noise. “More, please! Faster, Harry.” Harry’s hands were much rougher than what he was used to. He was used to expensive moisturizers and soft skin from his lovers. But Harry’s skin was tough from the years of work. It made everything feel so much better. He hardly felt halfway there but he was already shaking.

Harry couldn’t disobey a request like that. He moved his hand faster. He played with Draco’s nipple, rubbing and rolling the soft bud until he let his hand wander down further. It brushed down Draco’s abdomen and he was able to feel the trembling muscles beneath Draco’s skin. It made Harry’s own body heat up to _feel_ how good he was doing.

He continued down until he got to Draco’s hips. He used his fingertips to trace teasing patterns around Draco’s most sensitive flesh, all while speeding up and tightening his grip slightly around his length.

Draco let out a cry and bucked his hips. “Fuck! This is so good, Harry. You’re doing so good.”

Harry’s lips parted and he blushed darkly. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He didn’t know it was possible to feel so physically and emotionally pleased, but he was. It was everything he could ever want.

Draco could tell Harry was getting off on the praise. He bit his lip and let out a hum. “Harry, I need more!”

He obeyed and he found himself shifting his legs around so he was laying on his stomach, facing Draco. He decided he had to taste Draco.

Draco was already shaking. He was past using his own gasping breath to conceal moans. He was trembling and moaning out for Harry. He couldn’t be quiet even if he wanted to.

Harry then stopped stroking and used his hand to point Draco’s length at his mouth. The blonde’s eyes widened as he knew there was no way to prepare himself for what Harry was about to do.

Harry looked up at Draco while he leaned in and gave the head a soft lick.

Draco nearly shouted. It felt so good, and the eye contact was killing him. Harry was so innocent, yet here he was, with his mouth on Draco’s cock. It took all his self-control to not buck his hips, so instead, his hips trembled in the wake of Harry.

Deep green eyes turned playful and sinister. The eye contact was killing Draco. Harry’s eyes were so pretty. Maybe the innocence of it, maybe it was the confidence, but something about it made Draco shiver.

He gave a few more soft licks before he decided to take the head in his mouth.

Draco’s back arched at the heat around his tip and he let out a loud moan, unable to hold back. “Harry! Yes!”

Harry curiously gave a soft suck and let his tongue explore. He licked up and down the head, swirled his tongue around, all while looking up at Draco with innocent eyes.

Draco was shaking. He couldn’t look away from Harry, those sweet eyes were holding him hostage. Each suck and lick drove him wild because he knew it was the first time Harry had ever done this. He was absolutely useless in hoping to guide Harry. He couldn’t get out a sentence to save his life.

Harry let out a soft chuckle at how cute Draco looked. It made the blonde shout and squirm from the vibrations. Harry raised an eyebrow and seemed to somehow smirk around Draco’s tip.

Draco saw the way Harry’s mouth twisted and he knew he was done for.

Harry hollowed his cheeks so he could suck Draco’s cock a bit harder, he took a bit more into his mouth, he let his tongue roam around the new skin, and he let out soft hums as he did it.

Draco was an absolute mess. He called out in pleasure and he gripped the sheets, tugging at them. His legs and hips shifted around, unable to handle the pleasure. The muscles in his lower stomach and inner thighs were trembling. His eyebrows were furrowed, his jaw dropped, but he still couldn’t look away from those sinister green eyes.

He knew that Harry was originally going to be put in Slytherin, but that he convinced the hat to put him in Gryffindor. Now he completely understood that the boy between his legs, was in fact, an absolute snake.

Every time Harry did something new with his tongue, pace, or humming, he was gauging Draco’s reactions to find out what was most effective. It only took him a few seconds to discover what drove Draco wild. He was a quick learner.

Draco lifted up his hips, offering himself to the boy between his legs. “Harry! Oh, Harry! Yes!” Harry’s name was one of the last words Draco could get out. He was getting closer and closer to the edge. He was a gasping and whining mess, shaking and squirming all because of Harry’s mouth.

Harry decided to try something a little different and he began to move the hand that was still holding Draco at his base. He quickly stroked what he couldn’t suck with a firm grip. He heard Draco shout and watched his back arch. How beautiful. He felt Draco’s inner thighs quivering and watched him shake and squirm. He took Draco in a bit deeper, blushing as he felt his mouth be filled. A slight ache was starting in his jaw, but he didn’t mind. He impressed himself when he took Draco in halfway. He looked up at Draco through his eyelashes and that combined with his blush made Draco let out a strangled whine from the sight.

“I-I need to cum!” Draco managed to get the words out through gasps and cries.

Harry knew he might choke, but he didn’t care. He sucked what was in his mouth as he began to slowly bob his head, though not quite as fast as he was moving his hand.

Draco twisted and moaned out at the two different speeds on his cock. His breaths got more ragged and his moans grew in volume. He gripped the sheets and shifted his feet on the bed. “H-Harry, I’m going to cum! H-H-Harry! Harry!” He was shouting by that point.

Harry smirked and he pulled back a bit and focused his mouth on the first two inches of Draco while his hand jerked off the rest. He brought down his other hand to fondle and squeeze Draco’s balls. He let out a few soft moans to give Draco some vibrations, and could feel the boy shatter in his hands.

Draco was hit by an overwhelming wave of pleasure. He threw his head back in a silent scream as he came into Harry’s mouth. He was silent only a few seconds before his body trembled once more and he began to chant Harry’s name in shouts that slowly quieted to broken whispers.

Harry felt Draco spill out onto his tongue. He blushed darkly and suckled at Draco’s tip. It didn’t taste bad, or particularly good, but he decided it was good enough to swallow. Once nothing more came out, he licked Draco’s tip clean and then pulled away, feeling Draco slowly start to soften.

Harry sat up and wiped his mouth with a smirk. “So, how was that for my first time?”

Draco slowly caught his breath and softly asked, “D-Did you, did you swallow that?”

Harry nodded coyly.

“Merlin, you’re going to kill me.” That was the sexiest thing Draco had ever experienced.

Harry let out a chuckle. “Not so innocent now, am I?”

“Of course you are. You’ll probably always be innocent. It’s your nature.”

“You’ll probably always be pathetic.” He fired back with a new air of confidence.

Draco smirked up at Harry. “Big words coming from someone who’s voice is groggy from sucking dick.” He thought it was incredibly sexy.

Harry cleared his throat, a bit embarrassed, but it didn’t help the quality of his voice. “Whatever.”

“On the other hand, I guess you were right. You win Harry. So, whenever you want, I’ll ride your virginity away.” He winked.

It was then that Harry remembered he’s a virgin. His jaw dropped. “You did that on purpose. You sly bastard.” He was more impressed by Draco’s plan than anything.

“What can I say, I’m a snake.” He grinned.

Harry blushed and rolled his eyes. He then looked up at Draco and bit his lip. “You looked so cute. Can I do that again, sometime? Maybe tomorrow, or the day after that, or an hour? Whenever you want to, really. It’s up to you.”

Draco raised an eyebrow. “You already want to do that again?”

“You just looked and sounded so beautiful. You were so loud, and you looked like a fucking angel. You were so spread out and shaking, it was perfect. I want to do that every day.”

Draco gave a lazy smile. “You really are going to kill me.”

Harry rolled his eyes. “‘Perhaps.”

He looked Harry up and down. “We can do that whenever. I know you’re a very giving lover. But I’m not selfish. Expect me to return the favor.” He tempted Harry and licked his lips.

“Oh, you don’t have to. It’s fine, really. I like giving. I like seeing you all wrapped up in pleasure.”

“And why do you think I want to do that to you?”

Harry looked away and shrugged. “The same reasons.”

“So let me.”

Harry huffed as a blush spread on his cheeks. “Tempting.” He pretended to ponder it over.

“Get your arse over here, Potter, and let me stick my hand in your pants.”

Harry blinked in surprise at Draco’s commanding tone. His words went straight into Harry’s pants and he realized how hard he really was. He looked down and covered himself when he realized he dripped a wet spot onto his pants.

Draco smirked. “What are you hiding?”

“Nothing.”

Draco rolled his eyes. “You leaked, didn’t you?”

“A little bit.”

“I highly doubt it was only a little bit. Now come up here.”

Harry blushed and crawled up the bed beside Draco. He spent the next seven minutes trembling in Draco’s arms before pouring into his hand. But to Draco’s dismay, Harry performed a cleaning charm before he could get a taste.

Maybe next time.


	30. Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry goes looking for a house and casually brings Draco along. They also have a discussion about sex and Draco’s thighs.

Draco wasn’t exactly sure how he ended up looking at a house thirty kilometers from Hogwarts with Harry, but there he was.

That morning, Harry casually mentioned that he had been talking to Hermione’s landlady and that he’d been discussing the purchase of his own house. He told Draco that he was going to be looking at his favorite property that day and offered to take Draco with him.

Of course, this made Draco’s mind reel.

What did Harry mean by this? What were his intentions? Did he want Draco to move in with him?

Somehow, it felt natural to Draco that he should live with Harry. He had no where else to go and they already shared a room, and, more often than not, a bed. Therefore, sharing a house only made sense. Especially when adding in the fact that they’re a couple.

Arachne Chutz was the landlady they were meeting. Draco had heard of her before. Some people in his old social circles criticized her for selling to halfbloods and muggleborns, others praised her for selling such lavish homes to them. Draco never cared much about real estate and never had a proper opinion.

He and Harry arrived at a quite large house, two stories high and it’s size was about four hundred meters squared. It was no Manor, but it also wasn’t a simple suburban home either. It was giant.

Draco could tell Harry had him in mind when he was choosing where he wanted to live. Big, quite lavish, dark, and there was a lovely garden out front. Draco loved it.

They entered the foyer and it was so large that it nearly extended from the front all the way to the back of the house. The only thing separating the foyer from reaching the back was a seemingly useless and empty room that lead to the back terrace. At least, Harry thought it was useless. When Draco saw it, he and Arachne spoke about displaying art in it as if the room’s true purpose was obvious to them. Harry smiled and nodded even though he was completely lost. Apparently, the room was a gallery.

The foyer also contained two hallways and a grand staircase to the second floor. The left hallway lead to the sitting room, library, an office, and a covered patio. The right lead to the kitchen, the dining hall, a bathroom, and a small laundry room.

Upstairs, they entered yet another room who’s purpose Harry didn’t understand. But again, Draco and Arachne were going on about how the room was obviously just a much smaller foyer. There were two hallways yet again. To the left was the master bedroom, a second bedroom, another office, and connected to each bedroom was it’s own bathroom. To the right was three more bedrooms with their own bathrooms. Behind the smaller foyer, was a large balcony that gave a gorgeous view of the backyard and the woods surrounding the house. Wrapped around the house was a wall that came to a gate in the very front. The wall was covered in flowery vines that had grown to crawl up it.

Draco was in love with the house. Harry thought it was alright. He wasn’t really picky, he could imagine himself living in it, and he loved the privacy and proximity to Hogwarts. He didn’t have to be in love with a house to know it’s what he wants. It felt right, and that’s enough.

The price was a little over six hundred thousand Galleons. Harry said he could pay it in full in two weeks. Arachne said she’d get the deed for the house ready. They shook hands and parted ways.

As exciting as it was to look at the house with Harry, Draco was still a bit unsure about Harry's intentions. He wondered about it on their way home, but didn’t say anything until they returned to Hogwarts.

“Harry?” Draco questioned him as they walked towards their dorm. “Why exactly did you invite me to go looking at a house with you?”

Harry looked at him with a sheepish smile. “Uh, well. I just, I wanted you to like it too.”

“Why?”

Harry’s cheeks went pink. “Well ..... neither of us really have anywhere to go after Hogwarts, and we’ll both be teaching there. So. I just. I thought. I thought maybe you’d. You, you might want to stay with me ..... or something. You could have your own room if you wanted! I-I don’t want to pressure you, or anything. Or you could live somewhere else and just visit me.” He was sputtering for his response, quite coy about his intentions. “But. I. Either way I just want you to like it to. I don’t know.”

“Harry, it’s incredibly obvious that big and lavish isn’t your style. You chose that house because you had me in mind when you were looking.” Draco smiled and let out a laugh. “I would love to live with you.”

Harry chuckled and grinned up at Draco. “Good. Because I’m already sucking your dick, and I think it’d be easier for me to do it if we lived together.” He winked.

Draco’s jaw dropped. “Shut up, Harry. You bloody bastard.” He grumbled as they walked on to their dorm.

As they got closer, a young Hufflepuff hesitantly approached them. “Potter?”

Harry looked over at her.

She wordlessly handed him a copy of Witches Weekly with one page clearly bookmarked, and then walked away.

Harry furrowed his eyebrows and took the magazine, opening it to the bookmarked page. He saw it was an article about him. The main image was a picture of him taken only a week ago. He was smiling, looking off at something, clearly unaware that he was being photographed, and on his neck was a noticeable hickey.

The article was basically about how Harry must be sleeping with someone, or that he perhaps is in a relationship. Either way, it was an article about how heartbroken they are because someone has probably taken Harry’s virginity.

This meant two things to Harry.

One, people sexualize him a lot more often than he previously thought.

Two, there’s a snitch at Hogwarts. But not the good kind.

He huffed and handed the magazine to Draco, who laughed when he read what it was about. “Merlin, I can’t believe someone may have soiled the Golden Boy.” He teased with a grin. “How dare they. It’s practically a crime.”

Harry crossed his arms and walked on, but Draco wasn’t done yet.

He followed behind Harry, ranting and raving about how terrible it is that someone may have had sex with Harry Potter, the world’s most desired virgin.

“You’d better shut it before I cash in the bet you lost. Then you’ll have nothing to tease me about.” Harry snapped.

Draco struggled to hold back his laughter as he spoke. “Harry, love, that isn’t going to make me shut up. I would love if you cashed in the bet I lost. I would love it. But nevertheless, I will never stop teasing you. No matter what.”

Harry crossed his arms. “Who took your virginity?”

That shut Draco up really fast. He was silent and he kept walking to their dorm as if nothing happened.

This peaked Harry’s interest.

“Who was it?” He pressed on.

Draco still ignored him.

Harry let out a laugh. “Draco, come on. You know I won’t be upset. You’ve slept with a lot of men and I’m okay with that. So long as you only sleep with me from now on, I don’t care about your past. Well. I do care because your past is part of you, but it isn’t going to bother me.”

Draco sighed and stopped only a few steps from their door. “Are you sure you want to know?”

“Yes.”

“Blaise Zabini.”

“Really? I thought you two were just friends.”

Draco shrugged as he opened the door. “With benefits.”

Harry chuckled as he entered their dorm. “That’s insane. I mean, I get it. I really do. I always thought he was kind of cute.”

“What?!” Draco whipped around and crossed his arms. “You thought Blaise was cute?!”

“Yea. Of course I did. Draco, you aren’t the only person I’ve ever been attracted to.” He thought Draco’s reaction was more hilarious than anything.

“Who else?”

“Seriously. You know I’ve only been with Cedric and Cho.”

“I know. But who else have you been attracted to?”

Harry sighed and sat down at his desk. “Alright, what exactly do you want to know? Everyone I’ve ever thought to be cute, people I’ve considered a relationship with, what?”

“Both.” Draco said with his arms crossed, sitting on Harry’s desk.

Harry silently raised an eyebrow at Draco’s choice of seating, but digressed. “Fine. I’ve found all my friends to be attractive, the Weasley boys, I considered a relationship with Ginny but she’s a lesbian, I thought Pansy was cute, you, Blaise, of course there was Cedric and Cho, there were these two Hufflepuff boys who graduated a few years ago that I thought were really cute, and there was this Ravenclaw girl second year that I liked, and that’s it.”

The blonde looked down at Harry with his arms crossed. “Well, I’m not so concerned about some nameless students or Cedric and Cho, but PANSY?! Really?! And what do you mean the Weasley boys?”

“Pansy is attractive. That’s just a fact. She’s objectively attractive. As for the Weasley boys, I’ve had my eye on them a while.” He slipped back into the way he used to tease Ron. “All of them. Literally all of them. Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred, George, even Ron. I even thought Arthur was a bit charming in his own way. I’m not picky, Draco. I’ve thought they were all cute. Just ask Ron, I’ve told him all about how I want to sleep with his brothers.”

Draco was more in shock than anything. He didn’t even have the will to look disgusted. He was taken aback at what he was told. “You were attracted to ALL of them? Merlin.” He sighed. “Alright then. But I do believe you named all your friends.”

“Of course. Hermione and Luna are fucking adorable. I’d never once thought of dating them and I never will, but you can’t tell me they aren’t adorable. Seamus and Dean have always been cute, but still, it’s always been obvious they were meant for each other and I never once thought of being with either of them. The same applies to the Weasleys, I never really thought about being with any of them, they’re just all attractive to me. It’s the same with Pansy and Blaise. I never thought of being with either of them.”

“Okay.” Draco was significantly more at ease with what he had been told. “Then who have you actually considered being with?”

“Cedric, Cho, and Ginny, obviously. The Ravenclaw girl from second year, Neville, and you.”

“Neville?!” Draco nearly shouted his name.

Harry let out a laugh. “Yea. Have you seen him recently? He’s fit. But he’s still so smart and funny. Around year five I realize I’d shag him if he asked. But I was over it all a little before the war. I see him as a brother now, that’s all.”

Draco had his arms crossed and a raised eyebrow. He was obviously jealous. But he said nothing more on the subject. Instead, he turned it around to something more favorable. “Well, I do believe I was also on the list of people you’ve fancied. Tell me more about that.”

“Of course.” He said with a smile and a soft chuckle. “First year, when I met you, you were objectively attractive. You were also a bloody bastard and a pain in the arse. But cute. Years go by and you’re still attractive, yet somehow even more of an annoyance. Then fifth year happened. I guess I sort of enjoyed bickering with you. You made things interesting. You were the bully I could actually stand up to, and beat the shit out of. Even though I never said it, I guess I decided that I secretly liked you. You were fun. A bitch. But fun. Then, sixth year rolled around. The battle happened. I realized over the summer that you weren’t really a bad guy. I still thought you were cute. I think learning the truth made you even more attractive. I got to know you and your personality made it all even better.” He blushed a bit and looked away. “You just ..... I realized that everything about you is beautiful. Your personality, the way you dress, your sense of humor, the way you walk, your subtle grace, your thighs, your hair, your smile, your laugh, your eyes, you drive me wild. And now, I am completely, utterly, truly, madly, deeply, in love with you.”

Draco beamed at the praise he received. “I’ll always be a pain in your arse, Potter.” He smirked down at the boy. “Or I could be quite pleasurable.”

Harry covered his face with one hand and chuckled.

“So what were you saying about my thighs?” That part stuck out to him.

Harry didn’t think Draco could catch it. “Oh. Well. Your thighs. I don’t know.” He shrugged. “It was one day in potions class when you were bent over, and I saw your arse. And then I saw your thighs. I don’t know.”

Draco raised an eyebrow. “What exactly do you like about them?” He teased.

“Are we really talking about this?”

“Yes. Now go on.”

Harry sighed. “Fine. I guess I saw how ..... muscular ..... they are. I don’t know. They were just bulging out of your pants and I dropped everything and I couldn’t stop staring. I don’t. I don’t know, Draco. I just like them.”

Draco laughed and looked down at his own thighs. He supposed they were muscular from years of Quidditch. He never thought anyone would find them to be particularly attractive. “Wow, Potter. I didn’t think you were so wanton. You have no standards. You think almost everyone is attractive. You’ve thought of shagging your own friends. You thought of shagging the enemy! Seriously?! Now here you are, fawning over a Slytherin’s thighs. How pathetic.”

“Not as pathetic as you when you cum.” Harry spat back.

“Are you trying to make me take your virginity? Because I will. In fact, I do believe I owe you quite a few blowjobs.”

“No, Draco. You don’t owe me anything.” He didn’t like the idea of owning sexual favors.

“You’re as ball-less as a doll, Potter. You act like you don’t have any desire besides giving. That’s all you do, give. Why not take? Or at least ask? I feel like every time I want to return the favor, I have to convince you.” He paused a moment and after thinking a bit, his voice came out much quieter. “Do you not like when I touch you?”

Harry was quick to respond. “Of course I do! I love it.” His cheeks went pink. “I do like giving. I like seeing and hearing you. I suppose I just have a hard time asking for things like that. It’s embarrassing. It’s embarrassing to ask, to moan, squirm, everything.”

Draco cracked a smile. “Oh, you’re shy?” He tilted his head. “How many times this week have you wanted to ask me to touch you, but didn’t because you were too shy?”

After taking a moment to think about it, Harry finally spoke a number. “Ten.” Only a month ago Harry hardly ever wanked, hardly ever got turned on, but now that he had a taste, he was addicted. Touching Draco, being touched by Draco, that’s all he wanted.

“Ten?!” Draco exclaimed with a dropped jaw. “I could have touched you ten times this week. Why didn’t you ask, or say something?”

Harry shrugged. “Because we weren’t doing anything. Usually we start flirting and kissing before I do anything, or you’ll just sort of pounce on me, but we were just sitting around and I was looking at you and thinking about you too much. I didn’t want to bother you.”

“Bother me?! Please tell me! Harry, you highly overestimate my elegance and grace. I, too, have desires. I have a lot of desires. I want to touch you so bad. Never think you’ll bother me. I don’t care if you run into the hospital wing while I’m treating someone. Tell me!”

“Okay. Fine. I’ll say something next time.” Harry agreed with dark red cheeks.

“Good. I need more excuses to touch you.” He winked.

Harry crossed his arms and looked away. “You’re insatiable.”

“You wanted me ten times in one week. How many times did I approach you this week? Two. Two times. You’re insatiable Harry.”

Harry rolled his eyes. “Same difference.”

Draco chuckled. “Precious.”

It was their final day of Easter holiday. Tomorrow, Hogwarts would be full again and classes would resume. But until then, Harry and Draco had no problem cuddling in the common room and eating dinner together. There was an unspoken anxiety between them about what would happen if news of their relationship got out. Some people wouldn’t care, others might be angry. But in truth, there wasn’t much more that could be done to hurt them. The only people who mattered to them already approved of their relationship.

That night, they slept in Draco’s bed. They held each other close and nothing else mattered. That night, in each other’s arms, they realized that no matter where they stayed, they were home so long as they were together.


	31. Redheaded Monsters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Draco receives a gift from Pomfrey and news of two new relationships are revealed.

The next morning, Hogwarts was filled with students once more. Amongst the chaos and reunions, a few packages arrived at breakfast.

Breakfast was bitter that morning. After two weeks of eating every meal together, Harry and Draco were suddenly at opposite sides of the lunch room again. They stole glances and smiled. The distance between them dampened the mood. They wanted to sit together and talk. But instead, they had a sea of students between them. Harry found himself counting the hours until he and Draco could hang out together again. But by the same token, a bit of distance was healthy.

Spending every second of every day together would get boring and vanilla. Having their own hobbies and lives that didn’t revolve around one another gave them things to talk about, and it made seeing the other after a long day even more sweet. But of course, spending a day together every once and a while wasn’t bad either.

Most of the morning mail was from parents sending over things their children left behind in their move back to Hogwarts. But some of it was other stuff. Namely, Draco received a brown paper package tied up with a string of yarn.

He looked down at the parcel with a bit of suspicion as he wasn’t expecting any mail that day. He tilted his head and slowly opened it. His friends looked on excitedly, though none of them knew what it was or who it was from.

Draco opened the package to find a pair of deep green scrubs and a letter placed on top of the neatly folded uniform.

He opened the letter.

_’Dear Draco,_  
_Working with you these last few months have been marvelous. You’re a fast learner, meticulous in your diagnosis and treatment, passionate about healthcare, and a joy to be around. We’ve all enjoyed you so much that all of the Healers in the hospital wing pitched in to buy you your own scrubs. I’m proud to have you as my successor. I know one day you’ll surpass me in your skill just as I surpassed my mentor. You’ll be the best of us, Draco. I know you’ll do good things._  
_Signed,_  
_Madame Pomfrey’_

Draco looked up at where Pomfrey sat with the other teachers and beamed up at her.

No one could have guessed how much being a Healer would mean to Draco. It’s the one good thing he’s done. It’s his way of trying to reverse the damage his parents and friends caused. It’s his apology. His atonement. But it’s also become his passion. Saving people, healing injuries, taking care of others, it’s become something he thoroughly enjoys. Having his own scrubs made it official somehow. It was as if having his own uniform made it real, set in stone, permanent. It turned his dream into a reality. He really was a nurse now, it wasn’t just a nickname anymore.

He couldn’t contain himself in the moment. His heart swelled and he felt as if everything he had worked to do was finally coming to fruition.

His eyes welled up with tears and he stood up and rushed to Pomfrey. She stood and smiled as she took the boy into her arms.

Everyone watched them hug. It confused some students who turned to glance at Draco’s abandoned spot at the Slytherin table. There, they noticed the scrubs at Draco’s seat and found the moment to be heartwarming.

Especially Harry. He knew exactly how much it meant to Draco that he be a Healer at Hogwarts. Even if he wasn’t to take over the hospital wing, healing people matter to him more than any of that.

“Thank you so much Madame Pomfrey. I promise I won’t let you down.” He said softly as they pulled apart.

She set a hand on his shoulder and smiled at him. Her eyes sparkling with pride for what he’s done. “I know you won’t. I know you’ll do good things. I’m so proud of you, Draco. Before you leave at the end of the year, stop by the hospital wing. I have a book I’ve been writing. It’s all my medical knowledge in one mostly organized journal. I want you to have it. You’ll need to study it if you want to run the hospital wing one day.”

“Of course. I’ll be there.”

Draco returned to his seat and rewrapped his scrubs, putting the clothes and the letter in his bag. Those scrubs meant the world to him, just like the silver around his wrist and Harry’s neck.

After sitting through a few classes together and being separated once more at lunch, Harry, his friends, and Draco all sat together in the common room of their tower.

While there, Seamus couldn’t keep his mouth shut.

“Harry, I saw that article about you in Witches Weekly.”

Apparently everyone had seen it, because all his friends gave Harry a knowing look.

Harry sighed. “Yes, I had a hickey. I’m an adult. Adults do things.” He didn’t want to explain his sex life to his friends.

“Alright. Whatever you say.” Hermione responded with a nod.

“Who gave you the hickey?” Pansy asked with a raised eyebrow and a smirk. She suspected it was Draco. She really wanted it to be Draco. She didn’t care for Harry’s dismissive response and instead, was eager to learn the full truth of the situation.

Lucky for Pansy, Draco has a hard time keeping his mouth shut and he was eager to brag about it. “Oh, I gave it to him after he s-“ He was cut off by Harry covering Draco’s mouth with his hand. His eyes were wide and panicked.

“They already know you gave me the hickey. Let’s stop there.” He slowly pulled his hand away. He didn’t need his friends knowing he was out sucking dick.

Draco nodded in agreement. But the moment Harry pulled his hand away, Draco blurted out, “Harry’s still a virgin.”

That moved Dean to let out a laugh. “Ha. Virgin.”

Seamus looked up at him with a raised eyebrow. “And? You were a virgin until last week.”

That got some soft giggles and muffled laughs from around their group. Something about sex turned them into dumb twelve year olds.

Dean crossed his arms and rolled his eyes. “At least I didn’t get too excited and spontaneously combust.” He mumbled.

Seamus scoffed. “Do you really think I’ve any shame left? I’ve been blowing shit up since I was a wee lad. Of course I combust when I’m excited.” He turned to his friends. “I’ll fuckin say it. I just blew up when we went at it. Everything was goin good and then suddenly, _BOOM_ and there was soot on me face.”

“You should see Harry. He’s the most coy little bastard I’ve met in my life. Watch this.” Draco said before turning to Harry. “I love you.”

Harry’s cheeks went pink and he grinned. “I love you too.” His reaction was completely involuntary.

“You’re so fucking cute.” Draco said with a chuckle.

Ron perked up. “So you two are officially dating? Finally?!”

“Yep. He’s all mine.” Draco said as he wrapped an arm around Harry.

Harry rolled his eyes and settled in Draco’s arms. “Of course we’re dating. You lot have been waiting months for it and I’ve loved Draco since Christmas. Hell, it feels like we’ve been dating for months instead of two weeks. This was bound to happen.”

Luna smiled. “I know the feeling.”

Normally, a response like that would have been met with more agreement. But the dreamy look in Luna’s eyes prompted everyone to question it.

“What do you mean you know the feeling?” Neville asked with a grin.

“Who are you with?” Pansy prompted. She could tell that Luna was definitely with someone.

Luna grinned and looked around at her friends, who were watching her expectantly.

“Do you remember Rolf? Rolf Scamander, Newt Scamander’s grandson. We’ve been chatting a few months now about different creatures. At first it was strictly research and learning more about the field of magizoology. But then, the letters got more and more personal. Soon we were talking about our dreams to travel the world and look for magical creatures. We’ve been meeting up sometimes. On holidays from school and some weekends we’ll meet and chat about all kinds of things. A few days ago, after some courtship, he asked me to be his girlfriend. I said yes. We’re dating and we’re going to travel the world together to search for creatures.”

It sounded like a dream to Harry. A magical and exciting dream. “I think you’ll love it.” He encouraged. “If you really care about him, be with him. I hope you two are very happy. If you ever have kids, be sure to send them here, me and Draco will take care of them.” Harry joked.

Luna looked him in his eyes and said, “I should hope so. If I had to trust someone with children of my own, it would be you.”

Being a godfather, hearing something like that meant the world to Harry. He was glad to know he was doing a good job and that it was getting noticed. He didn’t need approval. But it helped with his confidence in what he was doing. He knew nothing about raising a child. Not even from his own experience of being one. He never had a real childhood and he was never really raised. He was guessing and hoping for the best with Teddy, and it wasn’t easy. But it comforted him greatly to know that even to an outsider, he wasn’t doing bad.

“Thank you, Luna.”

“So,” Hermione prompted, “How did you two get together?”

Harry’s cheeks flushed and Draco smirked. “He was holding me and accidentally told me he loves me. Then he went on about his feelings and asked me if I wanted to be his boyfriend. I said yes.”

“How do you accidentally tell someone you love them?” Neville asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Easy. I just told him that I love him. But it was an accident. I meant to say something else. I meant to say literally anything else. At the time, I did want to confess my feelings, but I didn’t mean to outright confess that I love him.”

He tripped on his words and ended up getting himself a boyfriend. It was quite adorable.

“You’ve been dating him two weeks and you’re already giving him hickeys?” Pansy teased. “Wow, Draco. Ever the gentleman.”

Draco smirked. “Well it isn’t too hard to be gentlemanly when placed next to this heathen of a man.”

“It’s part of my charm.” Harry responded coolly, as if he knew he was right.

Seamus immediately knew what was going on. Harry thought it was sexy when Draco acted all high-class and gentlemanly, while Draco is attracted to Harry’s wild appearance and nature. He decided to join in a bit. “Dean here is a right bookworm. Always reading something.”

“And you’re a right bastard. Always getting into trouble. Clever and wily, you are.” Dean said back.

Draco, Harry, Dean, and Seamus were the only ones who knew what was going on. They were talking about what they were in to right under their friends’ noses. It was sort of funny to them. Like they had their own secret.

Except.

Hermione and Pansy were right on it. Pansy recognized that Harry and Draco were talking about what they liked about each other, therefore, Dean and Seamus must be doing the same thing. Hermione, who Pansy revealed all the details of her work to get Harry and Draco together, also came to the same conclusion. Luna was also slowly reaching the same conclusion, even though she didn’t know what Hermione and Pansy did.

Ron and Neville, on the other hand, were totally lost.

Through their quips, they found that opposites attract quite well.

It was a nice conversation, teasing their lovers and subtly pointing out how attractive they found the other. Pansy, Hermione, and Luna thought it was absolutely adorable.

Eventually, the conversation shifted to talk about their futures. They filled each other in on their lives. Internships, acceptances, and future homes.

Ron and Hermione officially have the deed to their house and have already started moving in furniture.

Neville and Hannah have found a home in Hogsmeade since Neville will be working at Hogwarts and Hannah can Floo to her Ministry job.

Dean and Seamus have been looking at flats in Hogsmeade since they love the little town and want to stay close by.

Luna said she and Rolf don’t plan on having a permanent home for a few years since they want to travel.

Pansy said she’s been looking at flats near the Ministry, and that she’s been talking recently to a boy in Hufflepuff who is interested in the same field as her. Of course this sent Draco into a fit because no man will ever be good enough for Pansy. But eventually, he relented.

Draco then spoke about how he and Harry looked at a house and that he supposes he’ll give Harry the luxury of living with him. It was meant to be arrogant, but really it was just adorable.

Somehow, the conversation then shifted to children.

Neville says he and Hannah don’t want any for a while, Dean and Seamus aren’t particularly interested, Harry is caring for Teddy, Luna says she’d want two or three, Draco is adamant about having an heir, Ron and Hermione want a girl and a boy, and Pansy is certain that she should never be responsible for a child.

It was insane to think that one day, some of them may have kids. It was insane to think that they’ll leave Hogwarts, live on their own, and work. Most of them never thought they’d live this long. Ron and Hermione didn’t think they’d survive the war. Neither did Seamus. Dean thought he’d die in Malfoy Manor. Luna was never quite certain about when. Draco sometimes wished he had died, but didn’t. Pansy never particularly worried for her life but knew she was in danger. Neville was prepared to die in the war. It wasn’t just hat he thought he wouldn’t survive, he planned on dying if he had to. Harry was absolutely certain he would die. Even before he accepted his fate and walked alone into the forest, he knew he was destined to die. But then he didn’t, none of them did. Now they have futures, homes, they’ll have kids, work, live average lives, and die with their names in the history books as war heroes.

At times, Harry wished he’d died in the war.

He didn’t want to grow old, he didn’t want death to creep onto him, he chose to die in the war, he chose death. Now he would have to wait.

But then he’d look at his friends, at his future, at Teddy and Draco, and he’d be happy he’s alive.

“It’ll be mad working here and seeing your kids come through. Teaching them. Do you think they would be anything like us?” Harry asked.

“If we’re lucky, they’ll be nothing like us. But if we’re even luckier, they’ll be just like us.” A smile crept onto Hermione’s face as she answered.

Everyone seemed to understand.

Ron let out a bitter chuckle. “They might be normal, or they’ll be just as mad as us. Wouldn’t that be insane? Especially for Harry and Draco, you too, Neville. You lot will have to deal with them all year. We only have to put up with them for the summer.”

Luna gave a soft smile. “I think your children would be lovely. Just as strong as Hermione, and as clever as you, Ron. The world wouldn’t stand a chance.”

Hearing that warmed Hermione and Ron’s hearts. Truthfully, they were worried about having kids. They knew most of their issues stemmed from war trauma. But they worried that they’d be terrible parents. Yes, Hermione is very strong and smart, but if it get’s too quiet she gets anxious. The forest was so still and silent. Ron is clever and funny, but if he thinks too much he’ll start to cry and spiral into regret. He always thinks of Hermione and his future when he falls asleep because anything else will make him trip and fall into his grievances.

Neville is valiant and loyal, but he will likely always be afraid of snakes. Although it is attached to the brave moment where he saved his friends, he’ll always also associate it with how willing he was to die, Snape, and what Voldemort did to his parents.

Seamus is cheery and kind, but sudden bright lights make him flinch and think it’s a curse coming at him. He’ll never forget all the times he was almost hit. All the times he almost died.

Dean is caring and brave, but dark rooms make him panic and forget where he is. It reminds him too much of the dungeon in Malfoy Manor. He was so certain he would die there.

Luna is gentle and intelligent, but being touched without any warning makes her instinctively pull out her wand. She doesn’t want to go back into the dungeon.

Pansy is quick-witted and stubborn, but seeing her own family makes her sick. She grew up with monsters and she was finally realizing it. Their ideology killed good people. She’ll never forgive that.

Draco is bold and wily, but flames remind him of his guilt and everyone he lost, and he’ll completely shut down. The flames took his friend, now he fears they’ll come for him too.

Harry is brave and good, but loud noises, whether it be a sudden boom or someone yelling, will always terrify him. All the times he was yelled at as a child, the explosions in the war, they’ll never leave him.

Perhaps none of them were ready for parenthood just yet. Maybe some of them never will be. But they have time. They have all the time in the world.

“Bill and Fleur are having a baby.” Ron mumbled, catching everyone’s attention. “They always knew they wanted two or three kids, so they just decided to go ahead and do it. Percy and Audrey too.”

Then again, Bill and Percy were much older than Ron, and felt they were ready for parenthood.

“Looks like Hogwarts has another year with Ginny, and then only a decade to prepare for the second invasion of Weasleys.” Dean joked.

Ron let out a laugh. “Of course! We never stop, we come in waves. Don’t let the calm fool you. Soon enough this place will be overrun by redheaded monsters.”

Something about that filled them all with a strange sense of hope and happiness.


	32. Tears Falling Down At The Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Teddy Lupin has his first birthday party.

In a perfect world, Harry would be able to tell Andromeda about the map, and she could use it as a way to relay messages to her daughter. But the world isn’t perfect.

Nymphadora thought that it should be kept secret. She loves her mother. But she doesn’t want to put her through the trauma of her death and then add on this strange form of communication via a piece of paper by which her dead husband would relay messages back and forth. It was too much and she wanted her mother to move on.

Naturally, Harry agreed.

It was decided that for now, nobody besides Harry and Draco were to know the true identities of the Marauders, and nobody beyond Ron and Hermione were to know about the map. There were no arguments, and they all found that decision to be for the best.

Despite all of that, Harry wanted Remus there for his son’s first birthday.

The plan was for Harry to keep the map in his pocket so he wouldn’t have to explain why he was carrying it around.

When the day came, Harry and Draco went to Andromeda’s house a few minutes earlier than they planned. It was all due to Harry’s worrying that they would be late, even though Draco kept insisting that he needed more time to get ready. He was already dressed, but apparently he needed more time to fix his hair and pick out the right cologne.

“Draco, we’re going to Teddy’s first birthday, not a bloody ball! He isn’t going to remember and Andromeda and I are going to be the only ones there. _Who_ are you so worried about impressing?!”

Draco gave him a resting bitch face and responded, “Well, I do have a pretty serious crush on _you_.”

Harry blushed and said nothing more.

When they arrived, Andromeda greeted them with a smile. It made Harry especially happy because from what he’s observed, she didn’t smile often.

They entered and found Teddy standing in the middle of the sitting room, chewing a plush ball.

“Teddy!” Harry called out and Teddy quickly looked over.

He saw Harry and Draco and got so excited that he dropped his ball. “Arry! Dwayco!” He quickly waddled towards them with open arms. He got to Draco first and hugged his legs before going to Harry and doing the same. He turned back to Draco and held up his arms, reaching for him. “Up.”

Draco bent down and picked him up. “You know, you really are spoiled.” He said to Teddy.

Andromeda let out a laugh. “ _He’s_ spoiled? Have you met you?”

“I may have been slightly pampered.”

“Slightly? You got everything you wanted.”

Draco rolled his eyes. “Whatever. You say this as if you weren’t there the same. You were your father’s little angel, remember?”

Harry was silent and just kept smiling through the conversation. It was a bit uncomfortable for him because he really didn’t have much to say about his childhood. His shoulders hunched slightly and his head slowly tilted toward some the floor. He didn’t stare at the ground, but it was obvious he was a little awkward about the topic.

Andromeda noticed and raised an eyebrow. “What about you Harry, spoiled much?”

His posture straightened and mouth opened but nothing came out. He looked around and cracked another smile. “Well, uh, no. Not really.”

Although she didn’t know the extent of it, she’s very quickly picked up what he was implying. She kept up her smile and gave a nod. “What about now? Doesn’t Draco spoil you?”

Harry couldn’t stop himself from laughing. It wasn’t just that she was incorrect, but it was also from how awkward he felt. “No. He doesn’t. Why would he? We’ve only been dating for two weeks.”

Andromeda and Draco were used to lavish lifestyles, and that included their relationships. Spoiling their partner, being spoiled, it was just how it was. But Andromeda didn’t even realized the two were dating.

She chuckled. “I didn’t even know you two were together. I meant it as a joke.” She looked Draco up and down teasingly. “You ought to step up Draco, or I’ll tell your mother to set you straight.” She joked.

Draco stepped forward in excitement. “You two have been talking?”

She nodded. “We’ve exchanged a few letters. She can’t write much, as you know.” Draco understood what she was implying. She couldn’t write much because of his father. “But we’ve met up once. She even-“ Andromeda was cut off by a knock at the door.

She smiled as if she knew exactly who it was. She opened the door to reveal Narcissa.

The two hugged and Draco grinned at the sight of his mother.

When they pulled away, Narcissa moved to hug Draco while Andromeda explained. “I invited her to Teddy’s birthday because she wanted to meet him. I also know that she hasn’t properly met Harry yet.”

Harry hasn’t seen Narcissa since Wizengamot.

Teddy curled up towards Draco to try and hide from the new person.

Narcissa gave him a smile. “Hello Teddy. I’m your great aunt, Narcissa.”

Teddy looked a bit confused a moment before trying out the new word. “N-Na. Nasa.”

It took all of Harry’s willpower not to snort since he was the only one who knew what NASA was.

After a few more attempts, Teddy settled on, “Nacissa.” He couldn’t quite get the “r”.

Narcissa chuckled and gave Teddy another smile before turning towards Harry.

“Hi.” He said softly, extending his hand to shake hers.

She shook his hand and nodded. “Hello, Harry. It’s been a while. I hope Draco is treating you well.”

Draco scoffed. “Why is everyone so concerned with how I treat Harry? Why not question how he treats me?”

“Because you’ve been a little shit since you were a babe.” Narcissa answered, “But Harry, Harry’s an angel.”

Draco’s jaw dropped. “He most certainly is not! He’s a right devil.”

Harry just shrugged. “I’ve no idea what he’s going on about. Thank you Narcissa, I’d like to think I’m nice.”

“Bloody heathen.” Draco mumbled.

Teddy then started reaching for Harry. “Up. Pick up.”

Draco passed him over to Harry, who beamed. “Even Teddy thinks I’m nicer than you. That’s why he wants me to hold him.”

Draco crossed his arms and rolled his eyes.

Once they finished teasing Draco, Teddy was given everyone’s full attention.

They started off opening presents.

Narcissa bought him some nice clothes and he absolutely adored them. He loved it so much he kissed her on the cheek and said, “Thank you, Nacissa.”

It was absolutely adorable.

Draco got him a few new toys and some cups made for toddlers. Teddy was quite excited to have new cups. He immediately asked for some juice for his new cup.

Andromeda agreed and without even thinking about it, Harry took the cup and headed towards the kitchen. “Do you mind, Andromeda?”

“Of course not.”

Narcissa and Andromeda were both silently intrigued by his willingness to go do it. Once he left the room, they proceeded to discuss it.

“Is he often so eager to do chores?” Narcissa questioned Draco.

Draco was a bit uncomfortable discussing it because it wasn’t as simple as him being willing to do chores. He was used to doing them. He was forced to. He was treated like a slave.

“Uh, sort of. He’s just used to it, I suppose.”

“I know Muggles don’t have house elves, but certainly the chores are divided out in some way.” Andromeda pointed out.

Silence was all they got from Draco. His eyes were shifty, he fiddled with his fingers, he was nervous and unsure of how to go about it. Instead, he quietly said, “It isn’t my place to discuss what happened to him.”

His behavior and wording of his statement told Andromeda and Narcissa all they needed to know. Andromeda frowned while Narcissa’s lips parted in shock. They said nothing more on the topic.

Harry returned with a cup of apple juice for Teddy.

Teddy proceeded to chug half the cup and then set it down.

Andromeda got Teddy a new blanket and a few small toys that he spent ten minutes completely engrossed by.

Harry then handed him the present he got for Teddy. It took him a long while to dig it up and get it ready, but he managed to do it a few days ago.

Teddy opened up the present to find a brown jacket that was much too big for him. He laughed at it, thinking it was hilarious how big it was. Nevertheless, he tried to put it on and thanked Harry.

Andromeda immediately recognized it.

“It’s for when you’re older and bigger. It’ll fit you perfectly then.” Harry explained.

“That’s Remus’ jacket.” She said softly.

Harry looked up at Andromeda and nodded. He charmed it to retain it’s scent. Though it wouldn’t mean much now, he knew that when Teddy was older, it would mean the world to him to have part of his father with him.

To his surprise, he looked and saw Teddy had the jacket wrapped around his front. “Dog smell.” He described.

None of them could contain their laughter.

“Yes, the jacket smells a bit like a dog.” Harry agreed.

“I love dog.” Teddy decided he liked the jacket very much.

“Where did you find it?” Andromeda asked.

“The Shrieking Shack back at Hogwarts. They left a few things behind, there. I figured the jacket would be a good start. I wouldn’t want to dump a bunch of memorabilia onto a toddler. I think Remus would have wanted him to have it.” Harry’s voice started out engaged, but it slowly turned dull and flat as he spoke. Even though he was still able to talk to Remus, he still missed him. He’d never be able to hear his voice or hug him again. The sight of Remus’ dead body was burned into his mind. It still hurt.

He felt tears welling up and he looked away. “Sorry.” His voice was a whisper.

Teddy didn’t really understand why Harry was crying, but he didn’t like it. He went over and hugged Harry to try to make him feel better.

Harry cracked a smile and hugged Teddy in return. When they pulled away he looked down at Teddy with his broken smile and softly said, “You look so much like him.” He could smell Remus on the jacket and it pushed his tears to fall.

“Who?”

“Remus.”

Teddy thought a moment before trying out the new word. “Wemus.”

Harry forgot about the map in his pocket. He forgot that the Marauders could hear everything that was happening. He didn’t know how proud James was of him or how happy Sirius was for his cousins Andromeda, Narcissa, and Draco. He also didn’t know how overjoyed Remus was. He didn’t know how Remus was telling Nymphadora about everything that was happening. He didn’t know that Remus nearly broke down crying upon hearing his son say his name for the first time.

“Yea.” Harry sighed out the word and then looked away, blinking his tears away.

Draco scooted closer to Harry and wrapped his arm around him. They usually weren’t this physical in front of other people, but Draco didn’t care. He just wanted to comfort Harry. Harry cracked a small smile and he laid his head on Draco’s shoulder. He had never been held like this before. But he really liked it.

“Are you sad?”

Harry didn’t know toddlers were so empathetic. But it warmed his heart. “A little bit. But I’ll be okay. Go open your last present, Teddy. Happy birthday.”

Teddy didn’t exactly understand birthdays, so he said it back, “Okay. Happy birfday.”

Teddy’s last present was also from Harry. It was some blocks to play with. Upon seeing the gift, Teddy managed to rope Narcissa into building a tower with him.

When it fell over, Teddy didn’t cry like most toddlers would. Instead, he made sure Narcissa was alright. “It okay. Build again, see.” He started building the tower again so she wouldn’t be sad. “I sad, but okay. See.”

Narcissa chuckled. “You’re such a sweet boy, Teddy. Did you know that? You’re so kind.”

Teddy smiled up at her. “You pretty.” He understood complements and decided he should complement her in return.

Teddy was only one year old and he was already a charmer.

Next was cake.

Just like his father, Teddy loved chocolate. So the cake was just that. A chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. He was very exciting.

After they sang him happy birthday, he blew out the candle and they went into the dining room to eat it.

That’s when it was made more apparent how alike Harry and Teddy were, and how different they were from everyone else present.

They both addressed the house elves by name and thanked them. It made everyone feel a bit bad for having never done that.

Harry didn’t see why he shouldn’t treat them with respect, and Teddy was too kindhearted not to.

Harry knew Draco was used to lavishness and excess, but one thing he would never do, is get a house elf. That was a line that he would never cross. As far as he was concerned, it was slavery, and he knew slavery all too well. Owning a house elf was something he refused to ever do.

After cake, Harry spent most of his time on the floor with Teddy, playing whatever he wanted to. They built towers, played peekaboo, played hide and go seek, and talked. Well, Harry did most of the talking. Teddy has a mix of words and babbling.

Draco spent about half of his time playing with Teddy, and the other half was spent talking with his mother and aunt.

Andromeda and Narcissa spent most of the afternoon talking to each other. They went on and on about every aspect of their lives. They were making up for lost decades. It took them a few hours, but soon enough, they found themselves caught up in their lives.

Andromeda took a few pictures of the occasion. She got one of Harry and Teddy playing peekaboo, of Draco and Teddy building a tower on Harry’s abdomen, and she got Harry to take a photo of her and Narcissa. It took him a solid three minutes to figure out how to work wizard cameras, but he got a pretty good picture for his first try.

Narcissa realized this was the happiest she had been in years. It made her a bit sad to think she had wasted so much time on a man that didn’t love her, but she was also proud of herself for finally taking back her life. It’s never too late, and it’s better she does it now than never. No matter what happens, nothing will ever make her regret this day.

Lucius was under the impression she was currently out with the Parkinsons, of which Mrs. Parkinson had lied for Narcissa.

The joy she felt made her realize that this is what she wanted. Her whole life she was taught to aspire to marriage. That marrying the right man and having her heir would be what made her happy. Maybe if she had married the right man, she might be happy, but she didn’t know who the right man was. She thought it was Lucius, but she was naive and young. Lucius knew this and took advantage of her for her riches. She spent decades in a loveless marriage, trying to figure out what she did wrong. She made Draco the light of her life, the one thing she did right. But now she knew that as long as she wasn’t living for herself, she was never going to be happy.

This. This tiny little family. Herself, her sister, her son, his boyfriend, and her great nephew. This unfamiliar house full of love was more of a home than Malfoy Manor ever was.

Something changed in her that day. Maybe she really did love Lucius. But now she was certain that she felt nothing for him. He meant nothing to her. But this little home was warmer than their bed ever was. The light in Teddy’s eyes and her sister’s laugh sparked a joy inside of her that she hadn’t felt since she was a child. She knew exactly what she wanted, what she needed, was right here.

From this day forth, she would never look at Lucius the same way again.

The day brought Andromeda and Narcissa much closer. They felt like young girls again. Back when they were best friends and nothing in the world mattered.

It also brought Teddy closer to everyone else, and he became comfortable around Narcissa. Before she left, he hugged her and told her he would see her soon.

Those words meant more to her than Teddy could comprehend. So she promised him that they would see each other again.

Teddy was worn out just before dinner. Andromeda was a bit pleased with how the boys had tired him out so she put him to bed early. After thanking them for coming and insisting they take some cake back with them, they said their goodbyes.

Harry and Draco found themselves exhausted when they got back to their dorm. Harry laid down on his bed and Draco laid next to him. But that wasn’t good enough for Harry, who pulled Draco on top of him so the blonde’s head rested on his chest and his body fell between Harry’s legs. Harry wrapped his arms around Draco and kept him close.

“Goodnight, Draco. I love you.” He mumbled with closed eyes.

Draco closed his eyes and smiled. “Goodnight. I love you too, Harry.”


	33. One Year

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Very short chapter on the one year anniversary of the war. I could have written more, I could have made it a huge event. But I didn’t. This is what felt right.

The next morning Harry and his friends started getting an abundance of mail about the one year anniversary of the Battle of Hogwarts.

Some of the mail was invitations to commemorations and events, and some of it was inquiries from journalists. Every once in a while, they would find that they had nothing better to do and found write letters in return to the journalists. A few questions weren’t too bothersome. But the events and commemorations made them all hesitant.

There were theories and rumors running around about things that happened, there were followers of Voldemort who still wanted revenge or felt that it wasn’t over, there was also the overbearing feeling of not wanting to deal with it.

Ron and Dean, for example, wanted to pretend that it never happened. They ignored all the mail they received about it and decided outright that they weren’t going to celebrate or commemorate the Battle of Hogwarts. It was over and they didn’t want to be reminded of what happened. Even if they were on the good side, they still lost. Everyone lost something.

Harry thought about going to a few, but wasn’t too sure. When he talked to his friends, they mostly expressed interest in going, but weren’t too sure that they really wanted to remember.

In the end, letter after letter was written by Harry and his friends expressing that none of them wanted to participate in any commemoration events as it was too soon, and whatever other bullshit excuse they could come up with. It was all just niceties. None of them felt comfortable going and that was reason enough to skip out on the festivities.

For the most part, it seemed that everyone actually involved in the war didn’t want to go to commemorations.

May first rolled around like fog. It clouded over everyone and everything. The students of Hogwarts acted like it was just another day, but in the back of their minds, they were all thinking about the same thing. They all remembered what happened.

McGonagall decided not to say anything about the significance of the day as some things are better left unsaid.

Classes were a blur as most professors decided today would be a study day, and students could just quietly sit in class and study to themselves. It was an unofficial day of mourning. During their impromptu study time in class, students either talked with each other or sat silently. Everyone except Harry.

It was a lot for Harry. Even though it was indirect, and it was really the result of a spell backfiring, he killed a man. The one and only life he had taken. And he didn’t feel bad about it.

He wanted to feel bad. He wanted to feel remorse, he yearned for any semblance of regret, he needed to know the ache of contrition, but he didn’t. He didn’t feel good about it, but he didn’t feel bad either. It was as meaningful to him as stepping on a flower. You don’t think about it, you don’t notice it, the damage is done, and it makes no difference to you. Killing Voldemort meant absolutely nothing to him. There was neither qualm nor glory. Just another thoughtless action. That was all.

Perhaps it was better that way. Feeling glorified or proud would be foolish, being regretful would be pointless, numbness was ideal to Harry.

So when Harry sat in class and genuinely did study, people noticed. While others cried to their friends, sat in their sadness, or tried to pretend they were alright, Harry was studying and practicing magic to himself. It was just another day to him.

Everyone noticed, but no one as much as Draco. Draco stared at his boyfriend in amazement because he could tell that Harry truly didn’t care.

In their dorm, after dinner, Draco couldn’t resist saying something.

“Hey. Are you alright?” He asked.

Harry looked up from where he was sat on his bed, holding a book on ancient runes. “Yea, I’m good. You?”

Draco nodded and was silent another moment. “How are you feeling?”

“Fine, I guess.”

He sighed and sat down. “You can’t tell me you aren’t feeling something. People died.”

Harry looked up, almost amazed. Part of him couldn’t believe how sheltered Draco seemed. Part of him wanted to laugh. Part of him wanted to lash out. Instead, he cracked a smile.

“Draco, people die. It’s what they do. It’s what they’ll always do. People have been dying my whole life. Death has followed me around since I was a baby. How they died makes no difference. They’re just dead.” He closed his book. “I really don’t know how to explain my feelings to you without making myself look heartless. I suppose I’m just used to people dying. Remus was dead yesterday, he was dead three months ago, he was dead a year ago, what difference does today make? Sirius was dead yesterday, what difference does today make? I don’t hold such a strong emotional attachment to dates, Draco. I don’t have that same connection to time.”

When you grow up thinking you have no future, the days mean less and less to you. Now that he’s older, Harry finds it’s still the same.

Draco found himself understanding. “So, you’re still upset that they died, but an anniversary of death, that doesn’t matter to you?”

“It doesn’t.” Harry confirmed.

Draco nodded and thought a moment. “So. You just. You don’t feel anything?”

“No. I’m completely numb.”

Draco’s face flickered with confusion before he looked Harry in the eye and said, “That isn’t normal.”

Harry tilted his head and waited for Draco to elaborate.

“Numbness, a complete absence of emotion, that isn’t normal. Numbness, at best, is a coping strategy.”

Harry sat up and set his book aside. Preparing himself for a conversation that he didn’t want to have. “You aren’t wrong.” That was as far as he was willing to budge.

“That’s a start.” Draco muttered. “Maybe it just isn’t the death that bothers you so much.”

“Draco, I’m not bo-“

“It’s because you killed him.”

Silence. Harry said nothing. He only stared at Draco, not even having the energy to express an emotional reaction to what he just heard. He felt a vague shock that Draco would say it so outright, but other than that, there was nothing.

“You never had to kill. Even when you wanted to, you never took a life until that day. You’re upset that you killed someone.”

“I’m not upset. I just don’t care. It doesn’t make a difference to me if I killed him, if someone else did, or if he wasted away in Azkaban.”

“Numbness is how you cope with having taken a life.”

“No, Draco. I’m not upset.” Harry was adamant in his claims.

“You’re right, you aren’t. But you don’t have to be to feel numb. Taking a life, whether they deserved it or not, whether you wanted to or not, is traumatic. Numbness is how you deal with the trauma of having killed.”

Harry stared at Draco. Part of him wanted to just walk away and not deal with it, but that would solve nothing. He that there a moment and sighed. “I suppose killing can be traumatic. But I think numbness is ideal. I’d rather feel numb than feel bad about killing that monster.”

Draco found himself agreeing. He would hate if Harry felt bad about it because he does believe that Voldemort deserved it, but he would also hate having to encourage Harry to believe killing Voldemort was good.

“Don’t worry about me, Draco. I’m alright. I’m doing much better than most of the people here. How are you? Really?”

“I’m sad of course. But I think we’ve had enough late nights discussing our feelings about what happened.”

In their old late night discussions, they touched on the war and what they lost many times. Draco didn’t want to have that conversation again. He wanted to put it behind him and move on.

“Perhaps we have.” Harry agreed softly. He looked up at Draco and silently opened his arms. He wasn’t good at asking for physical affection. He wasn’t good at asking for anything because he was so used to being told no. He was used to being berated for even asking.

His signal was enough for Draco. Draco cracked a small smile and he crawled into Harry’s arms. “Careful, Potter, or everyone will think you’re in love with me.” He joked quietly.

Harry held Draco close and finally felt a bit of happiness. “I’m already on the verge of waxing poetic about you.” He confessed.

“I wouldn’t stop you if you did.”

“You are a beautiful golden light. You’re my own sunbeam, a warm glow, you are everything bright and lovely. And now, as I struggle to see through the fog and fight to stay afloat in the stormy seas of my own mind, your touch is the lighthouse calling me home. And I will follow you anywhere.”

Draco let out a soft chuckle and felt a light blush creep onto his face. “Beautiful.”

“I hope it’s still just as beautiful a decade from now.”

“Do you really think we’ll be together that long?”

Harry shrugged. “I don’t know. But I wouldn’t mind forever.”

Draco felt his heart skip a beat. “Neither would I.”


	34. Now You’re Speakin’ My Language

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Upon realizing how Harry spoils him, Draco decides to show Harry how much he means to him.

Acts of service.  
Quality time.  
Physical touch.  
Gifts.  
Words of affirmation.

There are five love languages and everyone experiences them in their own way.

Harry knew very little about the five love languages other than the fact that they existed. He didn’t know which ones Draco preferred, but he made it his mission to explore them all.

He decided to experiment a bit to see what Draco preferred.

He started off with gift giving. He thought it might be obvious since Draco was used to lavishness and being spoiled.

One day, he approached Draco with a single azalea. It was bright and pink, so he thought Draco might like it since he does like flowers.

Azaleas obviously aren’t from England, but he was still friends with the florist in Hogsmeade, so he managed to have access to a wide variety of flowers from all over the world.

He wordlessly pulled out the flower from behind his back and handed it to Draco.

Draco was sitting at his desk at the time, but looked up when something pink entered his peripheral vision. He looked up and a smile graced his face when he saw the flower. “Harry, where did you get this?” Of course he recognized the flower and knew it couldn’t be found in England.

Harry shrugged and said, “I know a girl who has access to flowers. Do you like it?”

Draco nodded and took the flower. He seemed very happy about having received it.

Harry wasn’t sure if gifts were Draco’s biggest love language, but he seemed to really enjoy getting a flower.

Next was acts of service. He didn’t expect much from this because it was what Draco was used to.

One morning, while Draco was getting ready in the bathroom, Harry decided to make the bed for him. When Draco came out, he was surprised and acknowledged what Harry did. He thanked him with a kiss and then they left. Harry even noticed that Draco blushed when he realized what Harry had done for him.

Harry made a habit of making Draco’s bed for him and regularly getting him flowers. First the azalea, then a few bluebells, a couple different roses, once he even handed Draco an entire chrysanthemum.

The third language was words of affirmation. So on he went with what he was good at, he complemented Draco out of the blue, let him know how sweet he is, told him how he’s appreciated, he tried it all. The only thing that really got through to Draco were complements. Those were always appreciated.

Quality time was easy as they often spent time together. Of course Draco adored attention, but again, there wasn’t much of an effect on him.

Last was physical touch. Harry tried little things such as holding Draco’s hand while they sat in the common room together, brushing against him while they walked, and of course, he inevitably gave Draco a couple more blowjobs. But that was mostly because he enjoys it just as much as Draco does.

Alas, physical touch seemed to mean about as much as quality time and words of affirmation. It was special, and appreciated, but it wasn’t as effective as gifts and acts of service.

Because of it all, Draco felt like he was drowning in a sea of affection and love. He loved it. He’d never felt so cared for and pampered in his life. He found himself bragging to all of their friends about how amazing Harry is. They found it to be amusing, and it encouraged Ron to ask Harry for a bit of advice.

“He’s just perfect. He’s always holding me, bringing me flowers, fixing the bed for me, complementing me, it’s like a dream.” Draco spilled all the gossip to Hermione and Pansy one afternoon while Ron, Harry, Seamus, Dean, and Neville we’re off doing something, probably something dumb and dangerous.

“You did always have a weak spot for being pampered.” Pansy pointed out with a grin. “But I’m so happy for you. I never thought Harry was so romantic.”

Hermione also happened to know a bit about love languages, and she was tempted to break the whole thing down for them, but she didn’t want to ruin the magic of it. She decided to keep quiet about the reality of it and instead, smiled along with Pansy. “He’s a right tosser, but he has his moments. When he really cares about someone, he knows how to show it.”

Pansy became a bit interested. “Is he usually like this in relationships?”

Hermione nodded. “Yea. He’ll experiment a bit, and once he figures out what his lover enjoys, he’ll do it all. Develop sweet habits for them, like making your bed. He also occasionally does bigger things, like getting you flowers. He tries to mix it up and keep it a bit spontaneous.”

Draco raised an eyebrow. “I’m impressed. I didn’t think he cared enough to form an entire strategy.”

“It’s basic psychology.” Hermione said with a shrug. Sometimes, she really couldn’t keep her mouth shut. But in all fairness, Draco did seem to enjoy that Harry had formulated a strategy to charm him.

“How so?” He asked.

Hermione gave in and broke it all down. “There are five main love languages. Acts of service, gift giving, physical affection, quality time, and words of affirmation. Everyone responds to them differently. Sometimes people will show love with one, but prefer to receive love with another. Sometimes people like all five, sometimes only a few. It’s different for everyone. Making your bed, flowers, holding you, spending time with you, complementing you. He was experimenting to see what you responded to and what you liked best. Like with words of affirmation. I’ll bet at one point he told you that he appreciated you, told you he loves you, and complemented you at different points in the same day, yea?”

Draco slowly nodded. He remembered Harry doing exactly that a few days ago.

“I’ll bet you responded most positively to the complement, then that he loves you, and less when he said he appreciates you?”

Draco nodded yet again, highly intrigued by how accurate Hermione was.

“He was testing to see which words of affirmation you respond best to. He found it out, complements, and now he praises you so often that you can’t help but go brag to your friends.”

His jaw dropped. “He figured me out. Broke me down and played me like a violin! It’s calculated and precise, and he did it all just to make me feel loved! He’s so sweet.” He found Harry’s strategy and effort to be absolutely charming.

Hermione let out a soft chuckle. “I’m guessing it wasn’t that hard to guess acts of service was a big love language for you. Gifts either. It’s obvious that you like being spoiled.”

“Well, we were taught that in a relationship you’re suppose to spoil each other.” Pansy pointed out. “Gifts and acts of service is how we like to do it.”

“Oh, you spoil Harry?” Hermione asked. She hasn’t heard anything about it from Harry, which couldn’t be right because they’re best friends and often talk about their relationships with each other.

Draco opened his mouth to confirm her question, but nothing came out. His smile faded a bit and he thought a moment before coming to the realization that he didn’t really do much for Harry. “No. No I don’t.” He said softly, almost ashamed. He thought of all the wonderful things Harry did for him and he felt bad that he did nothing for Harry.

Draco has been in a relationship where he gave so much and received nothing in return. At first it felt fulfilling because he was making the one he loved feel happy. But eventually it became draining, heartbreaking, and exhausting.

Pansy jumped at the chance to make her friend feel better as she knew exactly what he was thinking about. “Better late than never, you can start now.”

“Right.” Draco confirmed. “I’ll go get him something today.” He felt a little better now that he had some semblance of a plan.

“That might not be a good idea.” Hermione countered. “As I said, everyone responds to the love languages differently. Harry doesn’t really enjoy getting gifts. Growing up he never had much of anything, and he never got birthday or Christmas presents. It’s hard enough getting him to accept gifts on holidays. I don’t think getting gifts is his love language.” She thought another moment before continuing. “Or acts of service. He hates asking for things, he likes doing things on his own because that’s just what he’s used to. It’s what he’s comfortable with. I don’t think what works on you would also work on him.”

Draco nodded. “Alright, then. That leaves the affirmation, touch, and quality time. It’s one of those three, right?”

“Or more than one.” Pansy reminded. “You have two love languages, remember. Harry might have multiple or just one.”

“You two already spend a good amount of time together. Though I’m sure it means a lot to the both of you, I don’t think quality time is Harry’s love language either.” Hermione pointed out before addressing the other two remaining languages. “If I had to guess, I would say it’s touch _and_ words of affirmation. He was abused and bullied. Touch and words have never really been a positive thing for him. I think those might work best.”

It made a lot of sense to Draco and Pansy. So Draco decided it was good enough to start.

“Alright then.”

Only a few hours later, Harry approached Draco with a red carnation in hand. He gave Draco a shy smile and presented the flower.

Draco grinned and accepted it. “This is so lovely, Harry.” He commented before leaning up to kiss Harry on the cheek.

Harry would never admit how much he loved it. He loved he little kisses he got from Draco. They always make him smile. He let out a soft laugh from how happy the kiss made him. “I’m glad you like it.”

“I can’t help I enjoy pretty things. So why don’t you come a little closer and let me enjoy you?” He winked.

Harry’s face lit up red and he sheepishly sat down beside Draco on his bed.

“Speechless?” He questioned. “Is my charm that effective?”

“I suppose.” Harry mumbled, quite embarrassed. He wasn’t sure what had come over Draco, but he enjoyed it.

Draco wrapped his arm around Harry and the moment Harry felt Draco’s warmth, he struggled not to melt. He wanted to fall into Draco and close his eyes. He could stay there forever. He almost hated how mushy and warm he felt.

“You’ve been so sweet to me this past week. What’s come over you?” He wanted to mess with Harry a little bit. He’ll never stop enjoying the feeling of teasing and toying with Harry.

Harry shrugged. “I just want you to know that I love you.” He tilted his head, realizing he didn’t word it exactly how he wanted to. “Er, I don’t want you to just know it, I want you to feel it. I want you to feel loved.”

Draco paused a moment, temporarily taken aback by the weight of that statement. Knowing Harry loved him was important. But that fact that Harry wanted him to feel loved, the fact that he went out of his way to make him feel loved, and that he worked so hard to get it right. All of that meant so much to Draco. The weight of what Harry had done was somehow heavy in his chest, but it was good.

“Wow.” He said softly. It was all he could get out for a moment. No one had ever done so much to make him feel loved before. No one had worked that hard for him. He understood now that this was a relationship that was much more serious and strong than any other before. It made him momentarily uncomfortable. But when he looked down at Harry again, he felt a certain sureness. That somehow, everything would be alright.

Draco didn’t exactly have a fear of commitment, but he’s seen some very bad relationships. He was scared of what could become. But he also knew this relationship wasn’t like what his parents had. There was no monetary or social gain from being with each other. They were together because they accidentally fell in love, and that was all. The fact comforted him.

But if he had to share a bed with one person for the rest of his life, he would easily chose Harry.

“No one’s ever done something like that for me before.”

Now he felt a bit worse because he hadn’t done anything for Harry. Part of him wanted to come out and ask what Harry likes. Part of him thought being open about it would make it less special. All in all, he had no clue what to do. He decided to start at the beginning, which was that he knew what Harry had done.

“I must admit, I’m quite impressed. What you did was so, strategic. You really should have been in Slytherin.”

Harry raised an eyebrow. “What have I done?”

“The five love languages. You went out of your way to find mind and exploit them.”

Harry cracked a smile, knowing he was caught. “You know about that?”

“‘Mione told me.”

“Dammit.”

Draco let out a soft laugh. “No, I think it’s quite charming how you figured it out.” He paused a moment as he felt a rush of confidence from Harry’s reaction. He felt like he had a wining move in a game of chess. “I even figured yours out.”

“And what are mine?” Harry had never given much thought to what he liked.

“Touch and words of affirmation.”

Checkmate.

Harry looked away and crossed his arms. “You only figured it out because I figured yours out.” He defended playfully. “You’re just upset I’m a better lover.”

Love wasn’t a competition. Not inherently. But now that Harry has made it a competition, Draco had to win.

“You are not!”

“I am. I wrote all those love letters, flowers, blowjobs, I hold you at night, I make your bed, damn.” He spoke as if he had just realized how amazing he was. “I’m bloody perfect.” Of course he wasn’t serious.

“You are, but that’s beside the point. The point is, although you are perfect, I am the better lover. I’m the one who started the love letters, I-“ He cut himself off to think a moment. “I seduced you into letting me touch you multiple times.” He thought again. “I carried your books for you and healed you when you broke your arm.” Draco was slowly realizing that perhaps, Harry might have been a bit more romantic than him.

Harry was having none of that. “You kiss me a lot. Made me less shy about physical intimacy. You’ve been my first ..... a lot of things.” He got a bit shy. “You helped me through a lot of dark things. You showed me how to be okay again. You care about me like no one else has before. You get mad when I do dangerous things, you love every part of me, it’s so unconditional. You try to make me laugh and smile when I’m upset. You were the first person to make me think about the future. I never thought about my life in five years, ten years ..... even one year. You were the first person to listen to everything, and accept every part of it. I’ve never been so loved before. Don’t sell yourself short. You’re phenomenal.”

It made Draco feel better about how he was doing as a boyfriend. But he didn’t want Harry selling himself short either. “You say that as if you haven’t done most of that for me as well.”

“Then maybe we’re both wonderful.” Harry reasoned.

“Perhaps.” Now that they were on equal terms, Draco had to get an extra foot in. “But I am superior in all other ways.”

Harry rolled his eyes. “I was on the Quidditch team for my talent. You were because you paid your way in.” He was never going to let that go.

Draco let out a laugh. “I don’t even like Quidditch. I hated it. I only did it because my father made me. I don’t care.”

He huffed. “I’m richer than you.”

“You’re a trust-fund baby. I worked f-“

“That is a blatant lie!” Harry was completely exasperated. “Your family hasn’t worked in generations. My family invented, made businesses, and played the game well to make our money. Now, I melt and sell metal and I own stock in my family’s sold off businesses. I work!”

“Yet I’m the one with a real job.” Draco teased.

“They don’t even pay you!”

“Same difference.” He refused to properly acknowledge defeat.

Harry broke down laughing.

Draco smiled, proud that he could make Harry laugh and smile.

“You are so frustrating! You always have to be right, you’re so damn cute, you’re charming, you’re a tease, you drive me absolutely mad!” He exclaimed, visibly wound up. “I love you.”

“I love you too, Potter.”

Harry let out a soft chuckle. “Why do you do that? You used to say my name so condescendingly, as if it were an insult, as if it was disgusting. But now ..... you made your old arrogance into a joke, you call me by my last name when you flirt with me, it’s .....” He trailed off once more, searching for words. “It’s incredible. Why did you do that?”

Draco shrugged. “Because I didn’t like how I treated you. It wasn’t okay. So, I thought that turning my old bad habits into something positive would be, ..... nice? I don’t know what exactly I thought. I just wanted to take something bad and make it good.”

He gave a nod, satisfied with the answer. “Thank you. Really. It-“ He cut himself off with a soft chuckle. “It means a lot to me. I really appreciate that you would do that for me.” He took a deep breath. “You probably already knew this, but I never hated you. No matter what you did, I really never hated you. You were annoying, and man did I love beating the snot out of you, but I never hated you. I never saw you as an enemy.”

Draco did already know that. He’d heard it before from Harry, but it still meant the world to him. But what Harry said next, he had never heard before.

“And I forgive you. For all of it. I forgive it all. We were both children, both manipulated, helpless to what had been decided for us, and we were stupid. I know you probably don’t want or need my forgiveness, but here it is. Everything you did, it’s alright. I know my friends haven’t really said it, but they never really hated you either. And I know they forgive you too. Everything that happened before this year, it’s forgotten. It’s done.”

Draco felt like a weight had been lifted off of him and he didn’t even know it was there. His lips parted in shock and he nearly felt like crying. No one had ever explicitly forgiven him before for what he had done.

“You have no idea how much that means to me.” He said. His voice was shaking from his emotions, but there was a firmness to it that only made his emotions convey even heavier.

“You were never that bad anyways. I almost killed y-“

“Don’t. Don’t.” Draco said softly. “We’ve been over that. I forgive you, and I think I’d rather just forget about that as well. Just put it all behind us.”

Harry respected Draco’s feelings. “Alright. We’ll forgive and forget it all.”

Draco nodded in agreement.

“Now, back to how I’m a better lover.” Harry joked.

Draco cracked a smile. “You’re such a liar.”

“But I’m not wrong.”

“You’re so wrong.”

“I already know what flower I’m going to get you next. I have a couple things up my sleeve, Draco.”

“Like what?”

“This.” Harry literally reached up the sleeve of his robes where he managed to keep yet another gift. It was a rolled up piece of parchment. He handed to Draco with a smirk.

Draco furrowed his eyebrows and unrolled it to reveal it was a land deed. It was the deed to the house he and Harry wanted.

A grin spread across Draco’s face and he welled up with excitement. “You bought it?!”

“Yea.” Harry nodded happily.

“Harry, this is amazing!” He hugged Harry tight, holding him close and nearly knocking him over.

Harry hugged back but was slowly losing his balance. “I was hoping you’d be excited. It’s ours.”

Neither let go of the hug until Harry couldn’t keep himself up and eventually fell backwards. He let out a laugh and looked up at Draco. “My bad.”

“It’s alright. I’m a power bottom anyways, you’ll get used to it.” Draco smirked.

“A what?” Harry had no idea what the term meant, but he assumed it was something sexual by the way Draco smirked.

“A power bottom, Harry. Means I usually take it up the arse, but I’m still the one in control.”

His cheeks went red at the explanation. “Oh.” He said softly. He looked away a moment. 

Draco let out a soft chuckle and he sat up, looking down at Harry. “I could get used to seeing you under me.”

“But I’ve already gotten used to you being under me.” Harry pointed out.

“I’m quite versatile Harry, I can do most anything. I can ride you, beg you to fuck me, bugger your arse. I can do it all.” He bragged.

Harry nearly choked at the third thing Draco listed. “You really are a slut.”

“Maybe. But you love it when I flirt with you.”

He couldn’t lie. “Yea, I do.”

Draco gave a soft smile and pulled Harry up. “Come on, I won’t ruin your innocence just yet.” He was about to say something else, until his eyes widened in realization and then he looked frustrated as if he had completely fucked up. “Two days ago was our one month anniversary and we forgot all about it.”

“Oh, I didn’t forget. I just didn’t think you wanted to go by month. I thought you’d want to do our anniversary annually.”

“Well, after the first year we can do it annually. But I was hoping we could start off celebrating month to month.”

“Alright.” Harry thought it was a good idea. He loved the idea of celebrating the little anniversaries.

“Why didn’t you remind me?” Draco asked

“I thought you just want it to do it annually.” Harry repeated. “But I did try a little bit to make it special. I got you five flowers instead of one, and uh, what we did that night.” He subtly referred to the last blowjob he gave Draco. He really enjoyed doing it.

Draco raised an eyebrow. “Oh. That explains why you tried so hard. I thought you were going to break your jaw.”

“I promise, my jaw is alright.” Harry was still embarrassed about how he managed to get Draco in over halfway.

“Harry, I really want to repay the favor.” Draco insisted. He really just wanted to suck some dick. It’s been over a year since he’s had any.

Harry shook his head. “No. I don’t like the idea of you giving me a sexual favor because you feel like you have to. I don’t want you to do it out of obligation. That makes me extremely uncomfortable.”

“I don’t feel like I owe you, Harry, I’m just pulling any excuse I can to suck your dick! I really want to.” Draco explained.

Harry was frozen with embarrassment for a moment. “Draco, that’s extremely dirty.”

“I don’t care! I want to do this, Harry, I don’t feel like I have to. I just really want to. But if you don’t want me to, I won’t.”

“I never said I don’t want you to do that. I just don’t want you to do it because you feel like you have to or because you feel like you owe me.” There was also an unspoken crippling insecurity that Harry might not be attractive in his pants.

Draco’s face lit up like a Christmas tree. “So I can do it?”

Harry blushed darkly and looked away. He didn’t know what to say. He wanted to, but he hesitated for multiple reasons.

Draco sat in silence a moment before breaking it. “Don’t tell me you’re insecure.” He couldn’t believe someone as gorgeous as Harry might have issues with his body.

“It isn’t just that.”

Draco knew he could correct self-image issues, but if there was something else, he needed to know. “What?”

“I just ..... oral sex is like a sexual favor. I do it because I want you to feel good, because we both want it, and because we both enjoy it. I do it because it’s something I want to do _for_ you, but .....” He trailed off and wasn’t sure how to explain it. “You know I have a hard time asking for things, or letting people help me, or do things for me.”

He finally understood. “Sounds like you have a hard time bottoming. I could hold you down if it would make you feel better.” He offered playfully and with a wink.

Harry’s lips parted in shock and he felt his face burn at such a suggestion. No one has ever flirted with him like that before. But the comment went straight between his legs. “D-Draco.”

“I’m just kidding, sort of. I can’t say I wouldn’t enjoy it. But seriously. If it’s something you want me to do, I want to do it as well. You don’t have to ask for it. Just say yes.”

His breath caught in his throat. This could go two different ways depending on how he responded to such a simple question. In the end, he couldn’t resist.

“Yes.”


	35. Sweet As Honey

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Draco finally gets a taste of Harry.

A smirk washed over Draco’s face and he pushed Harry back onto the bed. “I’ve been waiting so long to get to see you cum again.” It was true. With every orgasm Harry’s given him, he’s thought about getting to give Harry another.

Harry looked up at Draco and blushed when the blonde leaned over him to pin his wrists by either side of his head. He instinctively squirmed to see if he could break free. He was stuck. A wave of arousal washed over him and he was hard in his pants.

Draco raised an eyebrow. “Oh, you really are a bottom. Did you know being pinned down turns you on?”

Harry shook his head. He had been entirely unaware until now as the situation had never arisen.

Draco smirked down at him. “I’m honored to have helped you discover your kink. But if you’ll excuse me, I need my hands free, so.” He pulled out his wand and cast a spell Harry didn’t recognize.

When Draco removed his hands, Harry tried to move his wrists, but they were magically bound to the bed. He let out a soft whimper upon realizing he was trapped. It really turned him on.

A hand rested on his side while Draco’s lips came down to meet Harry’s neck. He sighed and closed his eyes at the feeling. His back gently arched and his breaths grew deep and quick. The kisses lulled him into an aroused yet relaxed state while Draco’s hands roamed to remove his tie and unbutton his shirt. Draco loved that he could hush and pacify Harry with just a few kisses in the right place. It almost made him feel powerful.

With Harry’s chest exposed, the kisses on his neck turned into little nips and soft sucks. They became concentrated on his favorite places. The spot just below his ear, near his hairline, and right under his jaw. It was systematic and tactical. Draco truly is a Slytherin.

He twisted a bit and moaned at the increase in pleasure. "Careful, you'll leave a mark." Harry whined but Draco only smirked against his skin. "You had no problem doing it to me." He mumbled in reference to all the hickeys he's walked around with. Of course, Draco Malfoy walking around with a few hickeys was nothing new at Hogwarts, but ever since his celebrity status, gossip articles have been writing about Draco's history of walking around with hickeys. Draco, however, was quite shameless and didn't mind it too much. "It's only fair I return the favor."

Harry let out a soft whine but didn't protest.

Draco's hands roamed up Harry's body and the pads of his thumbs brushed across Harry's nipples.

Harry had never been touched there before. In the few times he’s gotten off, he didn’t really have the time to explore his body. He’d also been under the impression that playing with nipples was just a girl thing. Nevertheless, his back arched and he let out a surprised moan, his eyes flying open. He looked at Draco as a dark blush spread over his cheeks. Had he known it felt this good, he probably would have swallowed his pride and done it earlier.

Draco smirked down at him as realization took over. "Have you never been touched there before?" He raised an eyebrow as Harry shook his head. Touching there was something so natural to him. It was one of the first places he’d explore on himself and his partners. He rubbed his thumbs over Harry’s nipples again and watched him throw his head back and whimper.

He let out a shaky, "Fuck." As Draco continued to rub him. He squirmed and whined at the new feeling. "Draco." He mewled. His eyebrows furrowed as a frustration took him over. It felt good enough to make him writhe and whimper, but it wasn't enough to push him to the edge. He needed more. "Draco, you're killing me."

"And they say _I'm_ overdramatic." He teased as he leaned back down to finish up the hickey under Harry's ear.

The added pleasure made Harry lift up his hips, trying to find any semblance of friction. It only added to his exasperation and he squirmed yet again when he found none. "Draco," He sighed out the name and the rest of his sentence came out as a whine, "I need more. Please?"

“Your politeness is starting to become a kink." Draco softly confessed before licking over the hickey and letting his hands roam lower. It was quite alluring to have Harry so often saying please in bed.

He took his time to explore Harry's skin. He ran his fingers over each muscle, curve, and scar that Harry had to offer. His fingertips left a trail of sparks and flickers that threatened to set Harry on fire. But with each sinful touch, Harry's body craved the flame more and more. By the time Draco’s hands reached his hips, Harry was flushed and burning with desire.

"Well if I didn't know any better, I'd think it was a result of how pompous you are." Harry threw back. Never too flushed to insult Draco.

Draco raised an eyebrow before he leaning down and licking at Harry's nipple. "You really should be nicer to me." He gave it a gentle suck and swirled his tongue around it.

Harry's hips trembled as soft grunts and moans slipped out of his mouth. His response was entirely involuntary, but he was incapable of controlling himself in the wake of such pleasure.

"You are, after all, tied up and at my mercy. I could blow your mind and leave you trembling with an orgasm, or, I could keep you up all night until you're crying for release. It's really up to you."

This was it. This was Draco's fantasy. Harry remembered Draco told him about it once, but now he was witnessing it for himself. Harry was a heathen that Draco wanted to break down and tame.

"That might be a bit difficult, I do have a hard time asking for things." He reminded with a soft smirk. He wanted to play around a little bit. He was curious.

Draco smirked down at Harry. "You'll do it if you're desperate enough. I hope you don't have any plans for the morning, because we're going to be here for a while, I can already tell."

"I wouldn't mind if you never let me go."

"Don't tempt me." Draco said with a sinister grin. But his heart fluttered a bit at the more romantic implications of Harry's offer. He used his mouth and hand to play with Harry's nipples again, making the boy under him groan.

Harry arched his back and his head tipped back as sighs and moans escaped his mouth. It felt so good to have such a sensitive part of his body played with, but it was frustrating as it wasn't enough to push him any closer to his orgasm. He closed his eyes and his eyes rolled back behind his eyelids. Part of him wanted to give in and tremble at the hedonism he was washed in, but part of him still wanted more.

Draco could feel Harry’s boner pushing up against his lower stomach whenever the boy lifted his hips. He let his free hand trail down to hold Harry’s hips down. He knew Harry was getting flustered and he wanted to make it even worse.

Harry groaned and shifted under Draco’s hand. “Must you do that?” He whined, only more bothered by his inability to find friction. He could no longer take, now, he could only receive what Draco was willing to give. He tried to slip his boner under Draco’s hand, but he couldn’t move.

“Yes, I must.”

He hummed and felt Draco kiss lower on his body. He squirmed at the feeling of his lips drifting lower and lower. He felt Draco part his lips and drag his open mouth down to the rim of his pants, leaving a trail of hot breaths that burned Harry to his core.

Draco placed a hand on the button and zipper that held Harry’s pants up and looked at the boy, silently asking for permission to undress him.

Harry had no composure left. “Please, just do it!” He was throbbing in his pants, straining to get out. He felt like he was on fire and he craved relief.

“I thought you had a hard time asking for things?” Draco commented with a smirk as he undid the button and slowly pulled down the zipper.

“I suppose you’re good at making me desperate.” He knew that appealing to Draco would be the only way for him to finally get off.

He smirked and pulled off Harry’s pants, tossing them on the floor.

“Those are worth more than your life.” Harry mocked, that being what Draco said when Harry had done the same to him a few weeks ago. He still wasn’t over it.

Draco rolled his eyes. “Shut up before I put them back on you.”

He set his hand on Harry’s bulge and pressed down, gently massaging the area.

Harry completely broke down at the friction. His back arched and his head tilted back. He sighed out a moan and his eyebrows furrowed at the pleasure that rushed through over him. He spread his legs a bit more and gave a pathetic attempt at lifting his hips again, even though Draco was keeping him held down. “Ah, yes. Draco!”

He bit his lip and watched Harry’s composure crumple under him. He then moved his hand to the band of Harry’s boxers. He raised an eyebrow, asking once more for permission.

Harry hesitated a moment, still a bit coy, but nodded.

Finally. Draco could finally see Harry completely nude. He slipped off the boxers and a grin spread over his face at what he saw. It was easily about 20 centimeters long and fairly thick. There were a few visible veins and the tip was cherry red. Draco wasn’t sure how, but it was actually kind of cute. It was a few centimeters longer than his own, less veiny, and his own tip was pinkish-brown. But Draco wasn’t insecure in the slightest. He’s learned to appreciate a wide variety of dick.

Harry, on the other hand, was noticeably embarrassed. “Stop staring.” He said softly. If his hands were free he would be covering his face.

“If I had known you were so big, I would have taken you a long time ago.” He commented.

Harry shyly glanced at Draco. “A-Am I?” He had never been able to compare himself to others before.

“Harry, you’re easily above average. But not too big either. It’s actually kind of cute.”

“Cute?” He questioned as he felt himself twitch in response to the complement.

Draco noticed and smirked down at Harry’s length. “Absolutely gorgeous.”

He twitched again.

“Draco.” Harry whined.

“Fine.” He wrapped his hand around Harry, making the boy’s jaw drop.

“You’re hand is so soft.” He whispered out his words, he felt like he could hardly speak. His own hands were rough and calloused. He was used to his own scabrous skin. But this new softness made him melt. It felt so good and sweet.

“Never make fun of my skincare routine again.” He said as he tightened his grip and began moving his hand up and down.

Harry moaned out and his hips wavered, wanting to move with Draco’s hand, but Draco kept his hips held down. “Let me move.”

“Maybe later.” Draco teased as he leaned down and gave Harry’s tip a lick to test his reaction.

A moan rolled out of Harry and his back arched up. He’s never had someone’s mouth on him before. It was so warm and wet. He let out a cry when Draco swirled his tongue around the tip. “Draco!”

Draco smirked at the sound of his name coming from Harry. He sounded so overwhelmed already. He led the tip into his mouth and listened to the long and low groan that fell from Harry’s lips. He hollowed his cheeks and sucked as his tongue licked and swirled around the head.

Harry’s thighs shook and he moaned out, calling out the name of the boy above him. His back arched and his breaths turned to panting. He writhed once more as his inability to move his hips was frustrating.

He pumped his hand as he slowly let more and more of Harry into his mouth. He felt the muscles in Harry’s thigh and lower stomach tremble at the feeling. He paused when he had Harry in halfway. He smirked and let out a moan.

Harry cried out and his body shook at the rush of pleasure the moan gave him. It sent vibrations through his most sensitive place and he couldn’t handle it. “Fuck! Draco!” He nearly shouted the words.

Draco raised an eyebrow teasingly and looked Harry in his eyes as he took more in. He somehow managed to look as sly and arrogance as ever, even with a dick in his mouth. Something about the position they were in, the way Harry so easily cried out for Draco, the volume, the desperation, the trembling, something about it gave Draco a sense of power.

Harry shivered at the eye contact. He, on the other hand, looked absolutely helpless. His jaw dropped when he saw he was almost completely trapped in Draco’s mouth. He let out a shaky moan and Draco began to bob his head.

His pace was slow as first, but soon enough, he was moving fairly quick and letting his tongue roam around Harry’s length. He could feel the muscles in Harry’s hips and thighs spasming and quaking.

Harry could already feel that he was being pushed towards the edge. He laid back and moaned, letting Draco take him there at his own pace. “Oh, Draco. Yes!” His back gently arched up and he bit his lip as he got a bit embarrassed at how vocal he is.

Draco took Harry’s lip biting as a challenge. He sucked harder and took his time enjoying the way Harry responded.

His muscles shook and trembled, his back was in a soft arch, and he was still giving feeble attempts at freeing his arms from the spell that restrained them. Curse words and Draco’s name were all he could get out, His moans and grunts quivered with excitement. Everything felt so good, he felt like he was floating in a sea of pleasure, and Draco’s mouth was making him drift towards his orgasm.

Draco shifted a bit and moved one hand to play with Harry’s nipples while the other drifted down to fondle his balls.

He grew louder as he was washed in the pleasure like waves crashing on the shore. Suddenly, everything spiked. He was nearly shouting and his whole body shook as he was thrown to the edge. In the moment he could hardly control himself, but it still came as a surprise when in the midst of his grunts and swears, a bit of parseltongue came out. He was begging to cum in a language only snakes could understand, but he was hardly aware that he wasn’t speaking English.

Draco felt his pride swell as the boy under him was incoherently crying out in a mix of two languages.

Harry did a complete turnaround as his cries turned into a deep and low moan when everything crashed and he finally came. His body fell slack and he twitched a bit in Draco’s mouth as he spilled out into the blonde. It was always most intense for him when he was right on the edge, but his climax was deeply relaxing.

Draco suckled a bit on the tip as he finally got to have a taste of Harry.

He pulled away and removed the spell from Harry, who immediately brought his arms down to grope around for Draco.

He smiled and reached up to hold one of Harry’s hands, looking up at his boyfriend with a playful smirk. He was still full of his own pride and had a misplaced feeling of accomplishment from what he did.

Harry looked down at Draco and let out a whine from how smug he looked. It was mostly because he knew _why_ Draco looked so smug. Finally sucking Harry off is what got him smug, and he could hardly handle that. He gave a few feeble tugs at Draco’s hand, trying to make him move up the bed to join him.

Draco relented and crawled up the bed, laying down beside Harry with a soft smirk. “Thank you.”

“Why are you thanking me?”

“Because I’ve been dying to do that.”

Harry’s cheeks went red and he looked away. “Now I’m cold, git. And you made me fog up my glasses a bit.” Insults were his last effort at regaining any façade of dignity. His display had been quite loud, vulnerable, and embarrassing.

Draco rolled his eyes and wrapped his arms around Harry. “You’re warm as a furnace.” He countered as Harry’s skin radiated heat.

“And you’re hard.” He said in reference to Draco’s boner, which was currently pressed against his thigh.

“But you’re tired.” Draco countered. He didn’t want Harry to get him off while he was so out of it.

“Yea, but I finally have my hands free. I could just hold you and touch you, you know it’s one of my most dearest activities.” He tempted with a teasing smile. He’d gotten quite good at seduction. It was another thing that had become trial and error for him. He learned how to properly seduce Draco, he learned about all the things he fell for, all the things he struggled to resist, and he used it all to his advantage. Seduction was really just a more romantic term for manipulation. Harry really should have been a Slytherin.

Draco let out a groan and looked away. “You’ve gotten far too good at seducing me.”

“Then give in.” Harry’s tone was a mix of desire and demand.

Draco bit his lip. “Merlin, you’re going to be the death of me.”

“Don’t tell me _you’re_ shy. You’re far too experienced and shameless to be embarrassed now. If it makes you feel better we c-“ He cut himself off. Before they partook in pleasure, they would always cast a silencing charm just in case one of them, usually Harry, got too loud and might bother Dean and Seamus. But this time, they didn’t. “Draco, we didn’t cast a silencing charm.” Harry looked horrified. “I was so loud.”

Rather than showing any ounce of sympathy for Harry, Draco instead began to laugh.

Harry glared.

“I’m sorry! It’s just, kind of funny. You were so loud! You even spoke parseltongue just before you came.”

Harry’s jaw dropped. “I did?!”

“It was this broken mix of English and parseltongue, and you were shouting it out, and it was so cute.” Draco explained between chuckles.

Harry’s face reddened and he decided now was as good a time as any to take his revenge. He was suddenly invigorated by the adrenaline of both shame and anger. He grabbed his boyfriend by his boner and quickly began to get him off.

Draco was silenced by shock and then let out a moan. “H-Harry? Really?”

Harry pulled out all the stops. His hands were much rougher and calloused than Draco’s previous lovers, he knew Draco loved how brutal it was. He also used his newfound knowledge of nipples, and made sure to leave a few hickeys. Some, only Harry would be able to see. He even felt a bit ballsy and left one dangerously close to the base of Draco’s length before going down on him for a bit. He did everything he’s learned Draco loves, but he was even more brutish about it.

Draco was utterly overwhelmed and reduced to incoherent moaning in a matter of seconds. The ordeal lasted only five minutes before he was left in stark euphoria.

Harry cast a smug cleaning charm.

“Happy now, git?” Draco mumbled through his final whimpers.

Harry playfully bit his lip. “Oh? Insulting me in the last moments of your orgasm. Next time do it while you cum.”

“You’re a filthy brutish peasant.” Draco grumbled.

“Are you trying to turn me on again?”

“Scoundrel.”

“Ooh, say that again. But this time, spit on me.” At this point, Harry wasn’t completely sure if his speak of a degrading kink was just a joke, or if there was a little truth to it.

Draco was absolutely appalled. “Must you do that?”

“Honestly, I can’t even tell if I’m joking or not.” Harry confessed with a grin. “Lighten up, I’m just having a bit of fun.” He said with a wink.

“A bit of fun? Alright then. Tomorrow, when I drag you into a broom closet between classes, I don’t want to hear any protests from you. I’ll just be having a bit of fun.” He mocked.

Harry’s jaw dropped and he was frozen a second. “I love you.” He was so entranced by the idea of Draco dragging him off for some fun that he didn’t even realized he was speaking. “Do you mean that?”

“Maybe, maybe not. I haven’t decided yet.”

Harry squirmed. “Are you trying to turn me on?” His body was trying to make something happen that Harry wasn’t capable of so close to his last orgasm.

“Merlin. I give you one taste and now you can’t get enough. You’re absolutely insatiable, Harry. But so am I. I think you’ll be a good outlet for me.”

“You can use me anytime.”

“Is that what it is? You like being used?”

“I honestly don’t even know. I really think it’s just you. You’re my kink. Everything you say and do. I just love it. I also just came about seven minutes ago so I’m a lot more shameless than usual.”

“Seven minutes? Hmm. Then I must not have lasted nearly as long as I thought I did because it felt like you were never going to let me fucking cum!”

Harry bit his lip and squirmed as he got a sinister idea. “I really shouldn’t have. I shouldn’t have been so rough. I should have kept you there, trapped in pleasure, the way you sound and move is so breathtaking and sinful. Next time, I won’t make the same mistake. I’ll keep you locked away in hedonism for as long as I can.” His voice was dripping with desire and came out as a slight growl.

Draco’s jaw dropped and his cheeks flushed. “No. Nope. I’m not having this conversation. Let’s just sleep before we end up staying awake all night.”

Harry smirked and wrapped his arms around Draco. “Whatever you say.”

Slowly, they both fell asleep in Draco’s bed. But when they woke up, they were still just as excited and curious. Somehow, Harry managed to get through the morning still a virgin.

But only an hour later, at breakfast, everyone noticed that Dean and Seamus were both having a hard time looking at Harry.

Somehow, Harry was the first to break down and ask about it.

“You heard, didn’t you?”

Seamus just busted out laughing and nodded. Dean, on the other hand, blushed and looked away.

Harry groaned and put his forehead against the table, too embarrassed to look at anyone.

It only took a few seconds for everyone to realize Harry and Draco has been fooling around, Harry got too loud, and Dean and Seamus heard him.

Although Harry was morbidly embarrassed, he would never change what happened.


	36. Birthday Bash

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> June 5th marks Draco’s 19th birthday.

The start of June marked the beginning of N.E.W.T.S and O.W.L.S.

While most students at Hogwarts were stressing over their grades and classes, Harry had much bigger fish to fry. Draco’s birthday was only four days away and he had absolutely no idea what to do.

He knew Draco was planning on having a little gathering with his mother and his friends. But beyond that, he had no idea what to do for him. All he knew what that he would do everything he could to make the day as special as possible. But first, he had to make it through his exams.

His fell on the first, third, sixth, and eighth days of June while Draco’s were on the second, fourth, seventh, and tenth. The testing period only lasted two weeks and many of the seventh year peers didn’t have their exams until the second week. Somehow, Harry and Draco got a bit unlucky and had their earlier. But they were thankful neither of them had to test on Draco’s birthday.

When the first day of June arrived, Harry ate breakfast, went to take his Transfiguration exam, had lunch, and then was off to his Charms exam.

On the second, Draco took his Potions and Charms exams.

Harry, however, had quite a busy day. He spent it running around, trying to make everything perfect for Draco’s birthday. He spent his morning in the library, researching flowers to try to come up with the perfect bouquet. He found himself going off of appearance, until he realized that many flowers have particular meanings associated with them. Then he found himself with an obscure list of pretty flowers with romantic meanings, before he realized that Draco probably doesn’t know or care anything about the flowers’ meanings. Now he had two feet of parchment and three hours down the drain.

By then, it was already time for lunch.

He sent all his books flying back to their proper places and threw away all his used parchment before going off to lunch to get something to eat and eyefuck his boyfriend from across the room. He spent his lunch period shooting smiled over at Draco and occasionally winking.

It was exactly what Draco needed. He really wasn’t too sure about how he did on his charms exam. He felt like he probably did okay, but by the same token, he also thought he could have done better and that he should have studied harder. But next was his potions exam, and he was nothing if not confident in that.

After lunch, Harry had a crisis. He remembered that the very next day he had his Herbology and Potions exams, so he should study, but he also wanted to work at what he would do for Draco’s birthday. After about half an hour of questioning himself, he came to the conclusion that he should write down all the things he wants to do for Draco’s birthday, and then not worry about working out the details until the fourth when Draco would be taking exams and Harry would be free all day.

He spent the next two hours studying Herbology with Neville and Seamus. Then another two studying Potions with Luna and Hermione.

During dinner, he could see that Draco felt much better about himself, so he spent most of lunch talking with his friends at his own table.

When they were back in their dorm, Harry got Draco to tutor him a little more in Herbology before they finally went to sleep.

The next day was a headache for Harry, who had breakfast, took his Potions exam, had lunch, and then had his Herbology exam. Draco’s day had actually been quite lovely. He went to see his mother for lunch, he studied a bit, hung out with his friends, and planned his birthday party a bit more. It was one of the least extravagant ones he’s had in a long time. Just a small get-together at Andromeda’s house.

Usually his birthday parties would be planned weeks in advance. They would be at the Manor, filled to the brim with people, a giant cake and nearly a hundred presents, relatives and friends competing to see who could get Draco the best gift and therefore prove how close they are to the Malfoy family, house elves losing their minds trying to keep up with the demanding guests, girls fawning over him, a few boys in the back who knew they’d have him when no one was looking, a ball with fancy dress and formal dance, everyone keeping up appearances and acting in good taste, and everything as prim and proper as always. He wanted his nineteenth birthday to be nothing like that.

His real friends and the family that he made for himself will attend. It’ll be at Andromeda’s house. He only expects to get a few gifts and a small cake that Andromeda promised to bake for him. He’ll have fun and be himself, no matter how improper it may be. And at the end of the day, Harry is the only man who will get in his pants. That is what he really wanted.

After ironing out the last few details of his party with his aunt and mother, he set about hanging around with his friends until after dinner when he and Harry studied a bit longer, and then they fell asleep together.

Draco had his Transfiguration and Herbology exams the next day. He was especially worried about Herbology as that was the one most related to his future career in medicine.

Harry spent the day in a frenzy. After breakfast, he rushed to the florist to put together the perfect bouquet for Draco’s birthday. He was out a few hours, but he finished just in time to run to the kitchen and bribe a few elves to let him sneak out some food in the morning for Draco. His birthday was on a Saturday so they didn’t really plan on going to eat in the dining hall. Draco actually planned to sleep in, and Harry planned to make Draco a nice breakfast in bed while he was asleep.

After lunch was when the real mess began. He needed to withdraw some more Galleons to melt and get the money for Draco’s gift. He didn’t exactly _need_ to make a withdrawal to afford the present, but he figured he might as well since he planned on spending a lot on Draco.

He spent his afternoon melting Galleons, selling the raw materials, buying and melting silver, minting it, and trading it for Galleons. He ended up staying out past sundown getting Draco’s present, still covered in soot.

He made it to their room and found Draco sitting on his bed, reading a book. He looked up to find Harry covered in soot and gave a teasing smirk. “I’m not even surprised anymore. Go shower.”

Harry let out a chuckle and went to wash himself off.

He returned with nothing but pajama pants and his glasses on. He laid down beside Draco with a grin on his face. “It’s almost your birthday.”

“I know.” Draco didn’t even look up from his page.

“Aren’t you excited?” Harry seemed to be the most excited of the two of them.

He smiled and set his book down. “I am excited, but not as much as you, it seems. Why are you so thrilled about my birthday?”

“I don’t know.” Harry said with a shrug. “I just am. I think it’ll be fun. I can’t wait to give you your present.”

“What did y-“

“It’s a secret.”

Draco rolled his eyes. “Must you be so sentimental?”

“No. It’s just fun because on the inside, you’re dying to know. But I won’t tell you.”

“I’ll suck your dick if you tell me.”

Harry facepalmed. “No. Draco, you slut.”

Draco smirked. “Only for you.”

He looked away but couldn’t stop the smile on his face. “I’m excited to give you your present, I really think you’re gonna like it. I actually have two presents, but the other one you aren’t going to get until after the party.” He couldn’t resist spilling a few little details to get Draco even more curious.

“Just tell me what it is. I want to know!”

“I know you’re used to always hearing yes,” Harry will never not tease Draco about his upbringing, “but it’s a no from me.”

Draco rolled his eyes. “Whatever. I’ll find out tomorrow.”

Harry grinned as they turned in for the night. The stress of Draco’s exams and Harry’s workout of melting metal had them both tired.

The sun rose the next morning and Harry peeled his eyes opened. He saw that Draco was wrapped up in his arms. He smiled to himself and wanted to go back to sleep. He was so warm and inviting. It was tempting, it was enticing, but he had to get up.

He forced himself out of bed and struggled not to whine as he got dressed. He hurried off to Hogsmeade and made it to the florist just as the shop opened.

“Here you are.” She said with a warm smile, handing him the flowers. “I’ve got to say, of all the arraignments I’ve done, I’m most proud of this one.” She was an artist and flowers were her medium.

Harry beamed. “Thank you so much.” He set thirty Galleons on the counter.

She looked at the pile of Galleons and gasped at the amount. “Harry, I can’t accept this. This arraignment is five Galleons tops! And you saved my brother in the war, I ow-“

“No. You don’t. Not anymore.” He was firm and unmoving in his words. “I plan on becoming a regular customer, and this is a business. No more freebies. I’ll be paying you from now on.”

She gave a nod and sent Harry on his way.

Harry hurried back to Hogwarts and snuck into the kitchen. He put together a plate of food to wake Draco up to before sneaking back out and heading to his room.

He made it back three hours after sunrise. Draco was still knocked out and he was thankful that most of his peers were still in their dorms as there were no classes that day, only a few exams.

He set the plate on Draco’s bedside table and charmed it to keep it warm. He placed the flowers on the ground beside the bed and pulled his shirt off, changing back into his pajama pants.

He laid in bed and got under Draco’s duvet once more. Despite having ran around for a good three hour, he still found himself tempted by sleep. He pulled Draco close again and smiled at ball of warmth in his arms. His body slowly relaxed.

Draco was facing him and slightly curled up. Harry positioned himself so that Draco’s head rested on his shoulder and his arms were against his chest. He felt so warm and peaceful. If he could, he would lay there forever.

He glanced at the time and saw that it was already nearly ten, the party began just after lunch, and Draco would want to have a few hours to get ready, so he knew now was the best time for Draco to wake up.

He was about to shake Draco awake, but then he got an even better idea. He leaned down and pressed gentle kisses on Draco’s neck.

He trailed his lips from the base of Draco’s neck to the spot just under his ear. He was soft and sweet, not wanting to overwhelm and wake up Draco. He wanted the awakening to be slow and peaceful.

He listened as Draco let out a soft sigh and his back arched in response. He smirked and placed more careful kisses right where Draco liked it most.

Draco stretched out his back and his fingers curled up. He twisted a bit and felt himself slowly be pulled from his sleep. He let out a sigh that turned into a soft moan as his eyes began to open. He saw the familiar batch of wild dark hair and squirmed. “Harry, you really shouldn’t wake me up like this unless you’ve decided you’re done being a virgin.”

Harry pulled away and rolled his eyes. “It’s nearly ten. You need to eat so you can get ready for your party.”

“Right.” Draco mumbled as he sat up. “Let’s go to the Great Hall the-“ He cut himself off when he saw Harry reach other to the bedside table and pull out a plate of food.

Chocolate crêpes, nuts, and berries.

Draco looked down at the plate and tilted his head. “Where did you get that from?”

“I went down to the kitchen and made it. I had to bribe a few house elves, but they let me do it.”

“You cooked it yourself?” He accepted the plate and was genuinely surprised by the quality of the food. It looked like something he would pay a nice amount for at a restaurant.

Harry nodded. “I hope you like it. I haven’t made crêpes in years.”

“It looks amazing, thank you.”

Draco felt a strange mix of happiness and sadness. He was absolutely elated that Harry would do something like this for him. But he was saddened because he knew the only reason Harry knew how to cook was because he was made to growing up. He had to remind himself that Harry did this because he wanted to and not because he had to.

He took a bite of crêpes and his eyes widened. He looked over at Harry and found words tumbling out of his own mouth. “How do you feel about marriage?”

Harry let out a laugh. “If I had known my cooking was what it would take to make you mine, I would’ve made my way into the kitchen months ago.” He then leaned over the bed and picked up the bouquet of flowers on the floor beside it. He presented the flowers to Draco with a proud grin.

Draco beamed as he took the flowers. He found himself excited and wide awake from his morning surprises. “This is so gorgeous, Harry! Are you trying to seduce me?” He winked.

“A little. Maybe.” He responded sheepishly.

“It’s working.” He took another bite of food and enjoyed his breakfast in bed.

Soon enough, he found himself in Harry’s arms, being fed berries. He felt like a prince.

As expected, Draco took a full hour to get ready. He was dressed nicely in his light and expensive fabrics.

Harry, meanwhile, dressed in five minutes. He threw on his cheap dark clothes and Sirius’ old leather jacket. He brushed his hair and ran his fingers through it so it returned to it’s messy and wild charm. He cut any parts of his stubble that had gotten too long, and decided he looked good enough. While he was looking in the mirror, he noticed his scar. He spent his whole life with the scar looking red and irritated all the time. But now, it had turned into white raised skin. There were little flecks where it had tapered out and lengthened since the war. To him, it looked a lot more like real lightening now. He figured that with Voldemort dead, his scar was able to heal as much as it was going to. He sort of liked his scar now. It almost marked the end of an era for him. It was older and a bit healed, like him, and he couldn’t ask for anything more. He wouldn’t wish for his scar to heal. It had become strangely precious to him. Of all the bad it may represent, it also had some good, and Harry appreciated both sides of it.

Draco walked out of the bathroom looking as charming as ever. It made Harry smile.

“You’re absolutely stunning.” He commented with a small smirk.

Draco chuckled sheepishly and gave Harry a raised eyebrow in return. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were trying to charm me.”

“If I wanted to charm you, you’d be wrapped around my finger by now.”

Draco couldn’t hold back his laugh. “Sometimes I just can’t take you seriously. You’re cute and a bottom. But you try.”

Harry crossed his arms and rolled his eyes. “I’m not a bottom, I’m a virgin.” He meant to correct Draco by saying they didn’t technically know if Harry was a bottom, because they had never had sex. But in reality, he only made it worse for himself.

Draco bit his lip and hooked his thumbs in the belt-loops of Harry’s dark jeans. He pulled his closer by his hips and tilted his head. “Would you like me to take care of that for you?” He offered.

Harry’s cheeks went dark red and he looked away. “U-Uh, we’re going to be late. We ought to get going.”

The blonde rolled his eyes and let Harry go. “Come on, then. Before I change my mind and bugger your arse.”

Harry choked on his breath and his blush spread as they left Hogwarts for Andromeda’s house.

Hermione, Ron, and Pansy were already there and playing with Teddy when they arrived. Teddy wasn’t shy in the slightest and he loved meeting new people. Neville arrives a few minutes later, followed by Narcissa, Blaise, then Dean and Seamus.

The group had never been properly acquainted with Blaise yet. But as they spoke and got to know each other, they all got along pretty well given their history.

His birthday party was everything he could of hoped. His friends and family all got along. Everyone laughed and joked, told stories, ate, played games, and fawned over Teddy.

Draco got a few presents and a chocolate cake. He was immensely happy with how it turned out. To him, it was absolutely perfect. Harry had gotten him three more pairs of scrubs and a few medical supplies he could use in his career as a Healer. He had also gotten him some flower seeds, “for the garden I know you’ll want to grow.” It meant everything to him.

When they arrived back at Hogwarts it was already sundown. Draco was humming to himself and dancing around. He was absolutely elated. Everything was so warm and perfect. His precious birthdays had been nice, but he’s never had one that was so warm and loving before. That’s what he needed.

Harry gave in and danced right along with him.

The radio caught on and whatever Draco had been humming started echoing through the room. It was some obscure wizard song. Harry couldn’t catch on to the words, but the rhythm was all he needed to keep up with Draco.

They had their own impromptu dance party and wasted away an hour.

They finished with grins and ragged breaths.

“I have one more thing I want to give you, but I’d really like to take a shower first.” Harry said as his hair was sticking to his forehead.

Draco nodded and changed into his pajamas while Harry got cleaned up.

He stood in the shower for a while, just staring at the floor. He was deep in thought about what he was about to do. He was filled with anxiety, excitement, doubt, and determination. He wasn’t sure of himself, but he knew exactly what he wanted to do. No amount of second-guessing would make him change his mind. He’d made his decision and there was no going back. He’s come too far to let doubt control him.

He finished washing up and he stepped out of the bathroom in just his pajama pants and glasses.

Draco looked over at him with a soft smile. “So, what’s this last thing you wanted to give me?”

Harry opened his mouth but nothing came out. He knew what he wanted to say, the words were trapped in his mouth but wouldn’t form. He closed it and gave a nervous smile instead. “Feel free to say no, we don’t have to if you don’t want to. But, uhm. I was thinking, maybe. Uh. I could ..... I wanted to-“ he cut himself off. His nerves were terrible. He took a deep breath. “I wanted to give you my virginity.”

His words hung in the air a moment as Draco took a moment to make sure his ears hadn’t deceived him. When he knew the words he heard were real, he blinked a few times in surprise. “Harry, I want to. I really want to. But are _you_ absolutely certain?”

“Yes.” Harry didn’t hesitate a moment to respond.

Draco nodded and then looked Harry up and down before a playful smirk took over his face. “Which one?”

“What?”

“Am I taking your front or back?”

Harry’s face went dark red. He hadn’t even considered that there were two possibilities. He tensed up a bit and looked away, trying to find the words to respond. He struggled greatly with intimacy, but was slowly getting better.

Draco let out a soft chuckle. “I’m just kidding, I know you meant the front. I just wanted to mess with you a bit.” He motioned to Harry’s bed, figuring the boy would be more comfortable there. “Lay there on your back. I need to find something.”

Harry laid down and his fingers immediately began fiddling with the sheets as he watched Draco look in his trunk for something. He pulled out a book, flipped through it, and then put it back before returning to Harry.

He furrowed his eyebrows at Draco, confused as to what Draco had been searching for.

“Oh, remember that spellbook of sex magic I mentioned I had looked through? Blaise bought me my own copy for my birthday.” He said with a wide grin.

Harry wasn’t sure if he should be scared or turned on. It was honestly a bit of both, and for some sick reason, he liked it.

“I could use magic to skip some of the foreplay and get right to the filthy fun of it. But I don’t want your first time to be so fast. If I’m to deflower you, I want you to experience every beautiful second of it.”

Harry looked up at Draco, and somehow, he knew that he was ready for this. His nerves were gone and he felt completely certain.

“Have me however you want me, love. I’m yours.”


	37. Stallions Are Best Broken

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You’re as wild as a stallion, Harry, and I’d like to break you before I ride you.”

Draco smirked and began to undress himself. “Have you any way I want? Tempting offer, but I don’t think I should. Not now, at least.”

Harry furrowed his eyebrows. “Why not?”

“I think I should stick to more vanilla things for now. You know how I like my men ..... tied up and helpless. You’re as wild as a stallion, Harry, and I’d like to break you before I ride you.” He winked as he set his clothes aside, standing naked before Harry. “Undress.”

Harry began to pull his clothes off as he spoke, “Fine then. But you had no problem tying me down last time.”

Draco let out a chuckle at the memory. “Ah, yes. I’ll never forget that beautiful moment where I took the golden boy and made him beg for pleasure. So pathetic.”

“I’m not pathetic!” Harry sat up defiantly. “Careful before you lose your spot on top.” He threatened. He knew Draco’s fantasy very well. He wanted a defiant barbarian to break down and turn into a whimpering mess. He wanted to play to it, since it was Draco’s birthday after all.

Draco gave a wild smirk as he was in a mix of shock and playfulness. He knew exactly what Harry was doing, and he loved it. “Oh, don’t threaten me, Harry. Need I remind you of all the spells in my arsenal? I have an entire book now. And we have all night to experiment.”

Harry blinked in surprise and a blush settled over his cheek. “Y-You wouldn’t dare!”

“But you already know I will. So be a good boy,” he pushed Harry down so he was flat on his back, “and take your boxers off.”

Harry pulled his underwear off and looked down, embarrassed to see that he was already halfway there.

“Oh? Did my threats get you excited? Don’t tell me the golden boy is a bottom!” He taunted.

Harry glared. “I’m not a bottom!”

“Then why are you laying on your back, getting off to me threatening you?”

Harry didn’t have any sort of quip, so he just kept up his glare. “I’m not getting off to your threats. I just, I don’t know how to respond to that. You threatened to use magic to ..... I didn’t even know magic could be used like that until a few weeks ago, and now you’re threatening to experiment on me? Experimenting with sex magic, pushing me around, ordering that I take my clothes off, getting off on men who are tied up and begging, you really are quite a harlot, Malfoy.”

“I prefer gentleman of the night, and the sun’s down. My time to shine, Potter. One more quip out of you and you’ll find yourself quite helpless.” He pulled out his wand and cast a temporary silencing charm on the room. It would last for the night.

Harry had the gall to roll his eyes and remark, “You wouldn’t dare.”

Draco immediately aimed his wand at Harry and cast a spell that sounded vaguely familiar. But this time, his wrists were crossed above his head and bound.

Harry squirmed to try and break free, feeling a wave of heat roll through his body as he realized he wasn’t going anywhere. The familiar arousal make him blush and notice his length was twitching and slowly rising.

Draco looked down and saw it. “You can’t tell me you don’t enjoy this, Potter. Argue all you want, but your body says something else.”

“I swear when I get out of here I-“ He cut himself off with a shiver when Draco gripped his growing erection. He wanted to move his hips, he wanted to hump Draco’s hand and get himself off. But he didn’t want to give in so easily, either. It was Draco’s birthday and he wanted to play the fantasy for as long as he could.

“Are you going to finish that sentence?” He asked with a raised eyebrow. He began to gently stroke Harry and watched the boy shudder and let out a soft moan. “You’re so easy, Potter. An absolute slave for any semblance of touch.”

Harry let out a whine and tried to regain himself. “I-I’m not that easy, Malfoy.” It was so difficult for him to sass Draco, looking him in his eyes while he was touched. His muscles tightened and strained as he shifted around, he couldn’t stay still. He was biting back whimpers already.

“You’re already squirming.” He swirled his thumb around the tip and watch Harry’s hips involuntarily jerk forward. “So easy.”

“I can’t help it.” Harry defended. “You’re making me do this.” He also couldn’t help the way a few drops of clear precum leaked out of him. He groaned when Draco ran his thumb over it, slowly spreading the liquid over Harry’s tip. “Are you seriously enjoying this?”

“Enjoying what? Playing with your body? The sounds you make? The way your body responds to me? How pathetic and helpless you are? Because the answer is yes, I am.” He grinned down at Harry, leisurely stroking him once again.

Harry tilted his head back and hummed. “You make it so hard to resist, pretty boy.” He recognized there was no way he could hold back his reactions, so he let it all out.

Draco rolled his eyes. “Heathen.”

“But you like it.” He sighed out his words. “You love how brutish I am. Compared to you, I’m feral and free. And that drives you almost as wild as me.” He let out a soft grunt, growing frustrated with the pace. “Don’t be so composed Draco, give me more.”

“Are you suggesting I stoop to your level of beastliness? Ha, I should never.” He spoke although he picked up the pace, making Harry moan out.

Harry decided to enjoy what he could get and he let his hips slowly begin to move at Draco’s pace. He couldn’t deny that Draco was phenomenal at what he does. When Draco saw this he pulled his hand away, making Harry let out a flustered huff. “Git.”

Harry was chided by the sight of Draco crawling onto the bed and muttering a spell that made one of his hands slippery and wet with some mysterious clear liquid. It took him only a second to realize it was some kind of lubricant.

His need left him as he watched Draco settle onto his knees and then turn around. His eyes fell to the blonde’s arse and he shuddered at the view of Draco’s hand drifting back there. He knew what was about to happen and he considered it an honor that he could watch. He was hardly aware of his own arousal, all that mattered was the lovely sight before him.

Draco slip a finger into himself, slowly moving it around before letting another in.

Harry didn’t expect that Draco would take in his own fingers so quickly. He was awestruck by the sight of such a collected man fingering himself. It was wondrous view that halted both time and Harry’s breath.

The tip of his second finger pressed against his own opening, slowly slipping in as Draco teased himself with only his fingertips. Only a moment of that and he took two fingers to his second knuckle. He was already panting and arching his back at the familiar stretch. He leaned forward a bit to let Harry get a better view of himself.

A third fingertip joined and Draco’s moans grounded Harry from falling victim to the the enrapturing display before him. His lips parted and his breath returned, quicker than before. He watched as Draco worked himself open, playing his own body with an experienced and knowing touch, showing Harry all the ways he knew sin.

Draco reached into himself, his fingers halfway in now, and he brush over each spot that made him shake. His moans were full and melodic, his head tilted back and his lips softly parted. He played with himself and gently massaged all the spots inside of him that made him weak. “Fuck!” He knew exactly what he was doing. He wanted to drive Harry crazy before he really began. He braced himself on one hand and leaned forward, pushing his arse back onto his own hand. He was just as needy and wanting as Harry, but he knew how to make it incredibly erotic.

He turned his head to looked at Harry from the corner of his eye, giving the boy a teasing wink before moving to straddle him. “Don’t move your hips until I say you can.” His tone wasn’t asking or commanding, yet Harry had no deviancy.

Draco gripped the boy in his warm and wet hand, eliciting a small whimper from Harry. His still observance of Draco had ended and the small drop of touch that he was given was enough to make waves inside of him. It shook him from his trance and he was suddenly aware of his need again.

“D-Don’t we need a condom, or something?” Harry wasn’t entirely sure how this was suppose to work.

Draco shrugged. “Well, I can’t get pregnant, and we have cleaning charms to take care of the mess.“

“Sorry. I’m not sure how this usually works.” He confessed with a blush.

“It’s alright.” He said as he stroked Harry a few times to coat him in lube before aiming him at his entrance and slowly sinking down to take in some of Harry’s tip. He gave a nervous smile and looked up at Harry with excited eyes. “I haven’t taken in someone as big as you, and it’s been a while since I’ve done this.”

Harry immediately tried to reach for Draco, but he couldn’t move his arms. The squeeze around him was marvelous, but he wanted Draco to enjoy it as much as he did. “I want to touch you.” His voice was soft, just as coy as Draco, and afraid of breaking the intoxicating atmosphere between them.

Draco blushed and mumbled a spell, allowing Harry to move his arms again. They flew to grip Draco’s hips. His hold was loving and careful. His thumbs stroked either side of the front of his hips, showing Draco a soft sweetness to coax him into the act. Though he had intended to play to Draco’s fantasy, on the inside, he was nothing short of a sweet lover.

“Take your time, love. It’s your birthday. It’s all for you.”

Draco looked away coyly and he sank down a little lower, pausing and wincing when Harry’s length had gone past what his fingers were able to prepare.

Harry somehow felt guilty, wishing he was smaller and easier for Draco. “Sorry.” He whispered. That was all he could do to hold back the satisfaction in his voice. The warm and wet grip around him made him want to call out and writhe, but he didn’t. He only wanted to show his love for Draco. Though he tried to stay strong and solid, he couldn’t stop the trembling in his thighs.

Draco felt it and smirked. “You’re already shaking, so easy.” He teased as he shifted a bit and took a bit more in. He was only a few centimeters from the hilt and he could tell. “Just another moment.” He wasn’t quite ready to have Harry all the way in him.

“We have all night, take your time.” Harry reassured that he was perfectly fine as he was. He wanted Draco to enjoy it as much as he did. Though he was already trembling and blushing from the way he was taken in.

Harry himself was unable to hold back any longer. He finally broke down. He let out soft pants, his eyes growing heavy and low with pleasure. He squirmed a bit but didn’t move his hips. He looked at Draco with an embarrassed expression as he let out a few soft whimpers. “I’m sorry, I can’t help it.”

Draco smirked and wiggled a bit, sinking down all the way. The stretch wasn’t painful, and though he wouldn’t confess it, he did enjoy it.

Harry whined and arched his back at the feeling. He trembled a bit and let out a few soft grunts. “Fuck, Draco.” He growled out his words as he let a hand drift to wrap around Draco’s length. He bit his lip and slowly moved his hand, wanting to ease Draco into pleasure to help with the discomfort he probably felt.

Draco let out a soft moan and felt himself relax a bit. He took a few deep breaths and that helped significantly with the uncomfortable feeling. Once he felt a bit better, he slowly rose up and then sank back down. He wanted to start off slow for the both of them. He let out a whimper when Harry’s grip tightened in response. He knew the action was mostly out of surprise, as Harry didn’t expect Draco to move so soon, but he couldn’t deny the pressure felt good. He bounced a little faster as he got more comfortable.

Harry’s eyes widened at the movement and he let out a long moan when he felt Draco speed up. “A-Are you alright?” He just wanted to make sure.

Draco rolled his eyes at Harry’s question just as a moan slipped out. “Yes.” He began to bounce a bit harder, starting to enjoy the feeling. Every sensitive patch inside of him was being lit up with pleasure, there were even a few deep inside of him that he hadn’t known existed until now.

Steady moans rolled out of both boys as they each became accustom to new pleasure.

Harry sped his hand up, wanting Draco to feel even better than he did. He wanted to make up for any discomfort and he wanted Draco to have more since it was his birthday. He watched the boy bouncing on his lap, his lips parted and his eyes closed from the pleasure. He cringed a bit at the horrible wet noise that ensued. He found it more embarrassing than anything.

Draco was having the time of his life. A smile spread across his face as his moans slipped out. He set a hand on Harry’s lower stomach to help brace himself as he went faster. His legs were shaking but were still steady enough to support himself. He arched his back as he was slightly overwhelmed by pleasure. His moans grew louder and he stopped for a moment to grind down onto Harry, almost trying to take the boy in even deeper. He was also searching for the place inside of himself that he knew would make him scream.

Harry’s back arched and he called out when he felt Draco grind on him. “F-Fuck! So good!” It felt so warm, wet, and tight. He’d never felt so good before. He kept up a steady pace stroking Draco while the rest of his body trembled out of his control.

The blonde was nearly a complete mess and it had only been a few minutes. He didn’t think Harry would know to touch him, but he was thankful that he did. He finally felt that magical spot inside of him being rubbed and he bounced vigorously, a small smile spreading on his face. It was overwhelming to have pleasure spread throughout his lower half. He felt as if he was already getting close to the edge. “Harry, oh! Touch me more! Faster!” He was chasing the feeling of an orgasm. It had been a while since he had another man inside of him and he didn’t realize how much he missed it until then. His breaths were more erratic as Harry obeyed and stroked him even faster. He hadn’t been this satisfied in years.

Harry was trembling under Draco. All he could do was writhe, touch him, and call out. He felt like he was floating in an ocean of pleasure, and at any moment, a wave could knock him down and he would drown. But he was ready. He was ready and excited. “Draco! Yes! Fuck, I love you!”

Draco blushed. It was the first time Harry said he loved Draco during sex. “I love you too.” He moaned in response. He felt a fire spreading in his stomach, hot and white. He knew he was only moments from the end and he could feel it. He bounced as fast and hard as he could manage, chasing his orgasm.

Harry threw his head back as tremors rushed through his body. He was nearly on the edge and he loved it. He squirmed under Draco and stroked him as fast as he could, his own eyes rolling back when he heard Draco getting louder. “C-Can I move my hips now?!” Draco had never said he could and he was getting desperate.

Draco’s eyes widened as he remembered that he told Harry not to move his hips until he said he could. “So obedient.” He moaned out the words. “Fuck, you’re so good, Harry. You’re so good to me. You can move.” His own hips had began to shake as he rode Harry, the hand on his cock was making it harder to stay composed.

The moment Harry was given permission, he lost it. He thrusted wildly into Draco, craving the pleasure it gave him. He began to cry out and he felt himself starting to leak. His free hand trailed back to grip Draco’s arse, digging his fingers in and playing with it’s soft roundness.

That’s when it all became too much. Draco was filled to the brim with pleasure and his body couldn’t contain it anymore. He cried out and felt Harry’s hand slowly trail up his back and to the back of his head, gripping his hair slightly and giving it a gentle tug. Part of him was impressed that Harry remembered he liked that.

It was rare for the person riding to reach the end before the person being ridden. But Harry’s touches were so sweet they coxed him further and further to the edge, far faster than Harry allowed himself to go. Draco bit his lip and used his hands to force Harry’s hips down, keeping himself lifted up so that he only had the tip inside. He looked down at the confused boy with a smirk. “Beg me to let you cum.”

Harry’s expression changed from confused to a mix of shock and embarrassment. “Don’t make me beg.” He said softly, already knowing he would do it. He saw Draco was unmoved and relented. “Draco, please. Please let me cum. I-I want it.” His face went dark red at his own hesitant words. He began to gently stroke Draco, trying to persuade him into moving. When it didn’t work, he let out a frustrated huff and swallowed his pride. “Please, Draco! Please, I love you! I’ve been good, I’ve been so good, I didn’t move until you said I could, I took my clothes off when you told me to, I did everything you said! Just let me have this! Please, I love you!”

Draco let out a soft moan from Harry’s touch and a smirk spread over his face. “So sweet.” The touches, words, moans, squirms, everything was so sweet. Draco was drowning in raw honey.

He sank back down onto Harry and bounced as quickly as he could. He was able to use their pause to calm himself down a bit, but he could see Harry was still as close as before. He tilted his head back and moaned out as a light feeling took over his lower stomach. He felt like he was flying towards the edge.

His bliss was cut off by a sharp sob under him. He looked down and saw Harry was only moments away from cumming.

Harry had a sweet smile spread over his face as he reveled in the ocean of pleasure that he had fallen victim too, finally brought under by the waves that once washed his body. He never knew why but he always gave a demure smile when he was close. Truthfully, Draco thought it to be absolutely charming, a testimony to innocence.

Harry heaved for breath, his body stretching and twisting as it was tangled in conflicting desires. It was all too much and not enough, he didn’t know if he wanted more or to escape. Nevertheless, his hips were thrusting into Draco as quickly as he could, desperate for satisfaction. His muscles trembled beneath the flesh of his quaking form. He looked as wild as his soul, still as ardent and free as ever. His hair spread out and his shadowy stubble made his eyes seem as bright as ever from where they peaked between his dark and heavy eyelashes. Something akin to innocence gleamed there while the rest of him was completely devoured by pleasure. The sight was that of stark and fervid beauty. But the sounds, the sounds were what drove Draco crazy. Harry didn’t just whimper, he keened, he didn’t just moan, he cried, and he didn’t shout or scream, but threw his head back and let out sinful howls. It was the most glorious display of hedonism Draco had ever witnessed. It’s wicked grace overcame Draco. He was trapped by the warmth, silenced and humbled by the sight of Harry giving in to physical bliss.

In that moment, Draco realized that he had never been so free to express his love for another. This was real, is was all so real. He wasn’t trying to impress, it wasn’t just a one night stand, and he didn’t have to worry about what others would think if they found out. He was completely and utterly free, just as much as the boy under him.

With that, Draco came.

He shook and cried while Harry let out a low and loud moan that was more akin to a howl. Draco was trapped in an intense physical bliss while Harry was overwhelmed by a deep relaxation.

It took them a few moment to recover. Draco managed first. He slowly pulled off of Harry and used a charm to clean himself up. He then looked down and smirked at the sight of Harry laying there, useless, with his abdomen covered in Draco’s cum. Part of him didn’t want to clean it up. But it was his birthday, so he didn’t. He decided to leave it there and taunt Harry about it when he recovered.

Harry came to only seconds later. He looked up at Draco with a dark blush. “I-I suppose I’m not a virgin anymore.”

“Suppose not.” He commented as he watched Harry look down and notice the state of his stomach.

“You couldn’t have cleaned that up?”

“No. Then I couldn’t taunt you about it.” He said it as if it were obvious.

Harry rolled his eyes and shrugged. “It’s yours, so I don’t mind it.”

Draco was a bit surprised. “That’s absolutely filthy, go shower.”

“No.” Harry said before performing the cleaning charm on himself.

“Whatever.” He then grinned at the memory of what they had just done. “I had you on your back begging to cum, that was so hot.”

He blushed and crossed his arms. “Shut up.”

“I love the way you say please. It’s so soft and meek.”

He turned his head, refusing to look at Draco. “You’re lucky it’s your birthday, or else I’d hex you.”

“I’m sure you would, love.”

Harry cracked a smile. “Come here. Let me hold you.” He was still relaxed and sleepy from his orgasm. He wanted to give in to the warmth and sleep.

Draco slid beside Harry and felt the other wrapping his arms around him. “Better?”

“Much.” He let his eyes close as he basked in the warmth of his lover.

“This was the best birthday I’ve ever had.” Draco said with a smile. “For your birthday, I’ll bugger your arse.”

Harry’s eyes snapped open and his cheeks went dark red. “Draco, shut up. Don’t tease me like that.”

“I’m not teasing, I’m serious. I want to bugger your arse. What’s so wrong about that?”

“That’s embarrassing, can we not talk about it?”

“Fine, then. We won’t talk about it. I’ll just do it.”

Harry rolled his eyes and pulled Draco close, enjoying the warmth of the others while they slowly drifted to sleep.

As they drifted off, Draco made up his mind. He was one hundred percent certain he was going to get Harry to let him bugger his arse.


	38. Things Fall Apart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things don’t always work out as you planned.

Only a few days later and Draco and Harry were taking their final exam, DADA. Nether of them found it to be particularly difficult, and Harry did his absolute best to make the highest score possible.

Without exams, Draco and Harry suddenly found themselves with a week and a half of free time, but their friends had just begun their exam weeks. They didn’t really have anyone to hang out with besides each other, which was fine.

Surprisingly, they weren’t going at it like animals all the time. Instead, they went on walks, hung out, had long conversations about whatever popped into their heads, and started buying furniture for their new home.

Since Harry paid for the house, Draco insisted on buying a majority of the furniture. Harry also decided to leave the decorating up to Draco since he had tastes that would better suit the house. Harry didn’t really care about how the house was decorated or furnished. Still, Draco ran every piece by Harry for approval.

Harry decided not to comment when he realized a lot of the furniture was dark green. He honestly found it to be a bit adorable.

Draco and Harry spent their last week of school moving furniture in and decorating. The only two rooms that Harry was really concerned with was the downstairs office, and one of the bedrooms. He wanted one office, and one bedroom specifically for Teddy. Naturally, Draco agreed so long as he got the upstairs office, which Harry was fine with.

They got their new home set up and even had a few clothes already there.

Draco was careful in not bringing up a house elf. He knew how Harry felt and didn’t see it necessary to get one, so he left it alone.

Whenever Harry thought back on the year, he found himself realizing that it had been the best of his life. He’d found real love, made new friends, didn’t have to worry about death. It was the first year where he got to be a normal kid. As unfamiliar as it was, it was wonderful.

He felt so free. It was as if he had suddenly realized that the weight of the world no longer rested on his shoulders. All his dreams of one day being independent were really coming true. It wasn’t just some fantasy in his head, he was making it a reality.

He felt like he was on top of the world. Like he had finally achieved everything he had fought for and that nothing could stop him now. Of course, he still occasionally had the looming doubt that maybe things weren’t really as good as they seemed. As if some day he would wake up and his scar would be red and irritated again, as if one day someone would try to kill him again. In his mind, a million things could still go wrong. But this time, he also had hope that everything would be alright.

He found himself much more joyful. Dancing around with the radio on, sitting by the window to feel the warmth of the summer sun, he even wrote a few more love notes for Draco. He was having the time of his life just by being a normal kid, and that was probably the saddest part of it all. Normalcy, which should be the bare minimum, was more than he could have ever hoped for.

There were always a few setbacks. A noise that was just too loud and sudden, an unexpected memory, the occasional nightmare, they both knew that some things will probably never go away completely. But it was good enough.

The two regularly visited Teddy. They had started going over every Sunday afternoon since they wanted Saturdays to relax by themselves. They wanted to be able to take Teddy out see everything, but we’re hesitant since they knew they’d have to deal with paparazzi. Teddy was walking, running, he was starting to hop, he danced, spoke in broken little sentences, and could sort of feed himself. Harry kept Remus up to date on all of the things Teddy was learning to do. He was still sad that he couldn’t be there, but he’d learned to cope and made the best of his situation.

Draco still had visits with his mother and they occasionally wrote letters to each other, but it was still difficult since his father couldn’t know about their communications. He had also started his garden at their house. Summer wasn’t the best time to start planting, but he started to plan out where he would grow everything.

There had also been some new arrests in the hunt for dark witches and wizards. There were some small factions of Voldemort’s followers they hadn’t died out and still felt that they could continue without him. While they were arrested, a new inclusiveness was taking over Hogwarts. Young Slytherins were welcomed and befriended by the other houses instead of isolated and judged. Things had changed for the better and Harry couldn’t have been happier with the way things turned out.

They spent the next two weeks hanging out with their friend whenever they could.

When the third week of June came around, Hogwarts feasted.

McGonagall gave a speech, congratulated everyone on their progress, and wished the graduating students luck in their futures. But there was one moments the students were especially excited about. The awarding of house points and the cup.

McGonagall ran through and updated everyone on how many points each house had.

Ravenclaw had 308, Gryffindor had 323, Slytherin had 457, and Hufflepuff had 603.

They celebrated their win and the feast commenced. Harry sat around with his friends, talking, eating, and laughing. It was bittersweet because although it was fun, it was the last time.

The seventh year students were filled with a mix of emotions. Sadness that it was over, excitement for the future, loss for all the missing faces, and joy for having finished.

Once the feast was over, the seventh year students had their graduation ceremony. It was more painful than any of them had expected. All the plans they made with lost friends, everyone who should have been there with them, everyone who should have been worried about studies rather than survival. They were isolated together and it made them realize how small their class had become. Less than half remained. Not all were deaths and some had simply transferred to finish their studies elsewhere. But most were dead.

Harry and Draco didn’t get much sleep that night. They didn’t really talk, they didn’t laugh, they didn’t cry, and they weren’t tired in the slightest. They were just silent and let their emotions sit inside of themselves. All the regrets and sadness that they had already shared. They let it be.

The next day was somehow even harder. Everyone had their belongings packed up. They would be taking the Hogwarts Express back to Kings Cross Station.

Before that, there was a lot of sentiment. Goodbyes, promises to keep in contact, exchanges of contact information, hugs, and tears. People hugged and promises to keep in contact knowing that they would never write, knowing this was the last time they would intentionally speak or see each other, some knew they would never be broken apart from each other no matter how time or distance played it’s part, others were soon to be coworkers, and some were moving in together. There were some classmates that Harry hugged but never planned to contact again. His friends, he wasn’t worried about, he knew they’d never be broken apart, and he definitely wasn’t worried about never seeing Draco again.

He eventually separated himself from the crowd and sought out McGonagall, who had been standing by and watching with a proud smile.

“Headmistress?” He asked tentatively.

McGonagall raised an eyebrow at him. “Technically I’m not your Headmistress anymore.”

“Honestly, I don’t think there will ever be a time when I’ll be comfortable calling you anything other than Headmistress or McGonagall.”

She smiled and let out a soft chuckle. “Understandable. Some habits are hard to break. I must admit, it would be strange to hear you call me Minerva.”

Harry cracked a shy smile. “My thoughts exactly.” He shifted a bit. “Uh. I suppose I just, I wanted to thank you. For everything.”

“Oh, it was no problem. I can’t wait to work with you next year.”

Harry tilted his head. “It. It isn’t just that. I wanted to thank you for _everything_. You’ve stood up for me so many times, when no one else would. You made me believe in myself, showed me magic.” He hesitated a moment. “I really don’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable or anything, but quite honestly, you were sort of like a mum to me. I didn’t really have anything like that until I met you. You cared about me, and for the longest time, I couldn’t figure out why. It made no sense that anyone would care about me. But you did. I don’t think you have any idea just how important you are to me. I was in a bad place, a really bad place. You got me off the edge more times than you know. I’m not one for dramatics, so you know I mean it when I say I probably wouldn’t be alive right now if it weren’t for you. So, thank you.”

McGonagall was stunned into silence. It was extremely rare to see something like that. In fact, Harry has no memory of a time where McGonagall has been silenced. Her eyes grew teary and she smiled. “Come here, my boy.” She opened her arms.

Harry’s shy smile grew to a grin and he hugged her.

“I’m so happy you decided to return. I’m so proud that you’ve gotten your own home. Your grades were wonderful this year, and I’m honored I’ll get to see you again in autumn.”

They pulled away and Harry gave a nod. “I can’t wait to work with you.”

“I’ll see you boys next year.”

“Us boys?” He questioned.

“You, Malfoy, and Longbottom.”

It was then that Harry remembered Neville was going to be assisting Professor Sprout, and that Draco would be working in the hospital wing.

“Oh. Right.” He let out a sheepish chuckle. “I forgot.”

“Just watch yourself, Potter. I don’t want you love life to become a distraction.”

Now it was Harry that was stunned into silence, but for very different reasons. He actually almost seemed afraid of what she might be referring to.

McGonagall rolled her eyes. “You and Malfoy.”

“O-Oh. You know about that?”

“Of course I do! I can see what’s right in front of me, Potter. Now go on before you miss your train back.”

Harry nodded, “Right. See you next year.”

The train ride back was excited and bubbly. Everyone talking about when their jobs and internships began, plans for the future, and of course, promises of when they would hang out again.

It was then that Harry realized it had ended just as quickly as it began. His time of being a “normal kid” was over. If it had ever really began. He wasn’t a child. He was nearly nineteen now. Maybe he never was a normal kid. But perhaps, he can be a normal adult, and maybe, he could use his teaching position to make sure no one ever goes through what he did.

He was strangely heartbroken at the realization that a normal childhood was something he’d never be able to have. But maybe adulthood was his second chance at life. No school, working a real job, living on his own. He had his second chance. Maybe that was enough. He wasn’t sure yet.

As the train got closer and closer to Kings Cross Station, Harry found himself becoming a mix of terrified and heartbroken. What if adult life wasn’t all it was cracked up to be, what if he messed up, what if he lost it all, what if everyone abandoned him. In his head, a thousand things that he knew would never happen, became possible. His grip on Draco’s hand tightened a bit.

He wouldn’t see his friends everyday again, he wouldn’t be a student with a simple school life. Perhaps he had grown too attached to his last year at Hogwarts. He almost felt like he had lost something big. The castle that protected him in the war, the peers and teachers that stood by him, the laughs, the smiles, the tears, the way that had all grown together for nearly a decade, everything was all just a memory now.

Harry was scared and he wasn’t quite sure why. He shouldn’t be, but he was. He was terrified and heartbroken. He was so concerned with what he lost that he momentarily forgot all he was about to gain.

Things fall apart. Harry learned that long ago, and now, he was revisiting the lesson once more.

He knew he had no reason to be so scared and sad, but he was. He didn’t know what else to feel. Perhaps it was better to just let the emotions happen.

So he did.

The train ride was painful for Harry, but it was necessary. He rode from Hogwarts to King’s Cross Station. There, he and his friends said their goodbyes. Of course, no one really said goodbye. Goodbye means forever. Instead, they said, see you soon. That was much better.

They all parted ways in the Station. Ron and Hermione to their house, Luna to meet up with Rolf, Pansy to her new flat, Dean and Seamus to their’s, Neville to find Hannah, and Harry and Draco to their new home.

They arrived and Draco immediately flopped on the bed while Harry unpacked. He was about halfway through his trunk when Draco spoke up.

“So, we’ve never really been in this bed together before. How about we, make it ours?” He asked with a wink.

Harry didn’t blush like Draco expected him to. He just sort of shrugged and softly said, “O-Okay. Sure.”

Draco blinked a few times and then sat up. He didn’t like that answer at all. “Harry, if you don’t feel like having sex we don’t have to. It won’t hurt my feelings if you aren’t in the mood right now.”

Harry was silent a moment, staring at the ground. “Uh. I-I would rather not have sex right now. If that’s okay.”

Draco stood up, walked over to Harry, cupped his face, and made the boy look at him. “That will _always_ be okay. Never be afraid to tell me no. I’ll always respect that.”

Harry nodded, not really knowing what to say.

Draco accepted the silence and began helping Harry unpack.

When they had almost finished, Draco spoke up again. “How about we go grocery shopping? Maybe we could cook dinner together, or something. We could go out and eat if you’d prefer?”

Harry had to think a moment about that. He was honestly a bit scared. Draco had been coddled all his life. He was never made to do chores, while Harry had to do them all his whole childhood. He was almost afraid that it would happen to him all over again. He had to remind himself that Draco wasn’t like that, but there was still a lingering doubt that he couldn’t chase away.

“We could shop, I suppose.” He was more afraid of how the tabloids would react to Harry and Draco going out to eat together.

Draco could tell there was something else wrong. It only took him a few seconds before he had a suspicion about what it was. “Alright. I was also thinking we could make a list of chores. Like, who needs to do what, and when it needs to get done. I was hoping we could divide everything up equally.”

It took all of Harry’s self-control to not make his relief obvious. “Alright, I’d like that.”

Draco gave him a soft smile. “Tell you what. I’ll cook dinner tonight, we can make the list while we eat, and then I’ll ride you into oblivion tonight.”

Now Harry’s cheeks went red. “Draco.” He whined.

“You’ll be saying that a lot tonight.”

As annoying as he was, Harry couldn’t be happier.


	39. The Need of The Devotee

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Draco falls to his knees, worships the flesh, and is blessed by Harry.

It’s easy to trust people with little things. Harry would trust a cook to make his food, he would trust a thief to rob him, he would trust his friends to help him, and he would trust Teddy to make him smile.

But trusting someone with your body was something entirely new and scary.

Somehow, it wasn’t too hard when Draco had his mind set on riding him. But now that Draco was set on the backside, it was scarier. There was a certain vulnerability to it. A vulnerability that Harry didn’t like.

He knew it would hurt, he wasn’t scared of that. He was scared that he would become irreversibly attached to Draco. He didn’t like such vulnerability. But by the same token, he wanted it. He wanted to let Draco do that to him, he wanted to be attached, he wanted to be vulnerable.

His emotions were conflicting, but one thing was certain, he was going to let Draco do it to him.

Harry and Neville thought it would be fun to have a joint birthday party. It started about four hours before midnight. In those four hours, Neville was celebrated. He got cake, presents, and all their friends told stories about him.

Then, the clock hit midnight and it was Harry’s turn. His portion of the party lasted another couple of hours.

It was half past four in the morning when Harry returned home drunk and with Draco.

Alcohol made him strangely sleepy. When the initial buzz wore off, he was really tired. He crawled into bed and stripped himself before getting under the sheets. “Dracooo, come on. I’m the birthday boy so you have to do what I say. Come lay down with me.”

Draco gave a lazy grin and flopped down on the bed with Harry, pressed against each other.

Harry woke up the next morning with a soft moan. There was a hand in his hair, petting him and gently scratching his scalp. His back arched softly and one of his hands drifted up to trap the hand in his hair, preventing it from leaving it’s place.

A soft chuckle at his side pulled him further into reality.

Harry peeled his eyes opened and looked up to see Draco was looking down at him, ocean eyes full of love, soft blonde air, the golden sun shining through their curtains. Harry was in awe.

“You look like an angel.” Harry said softly.

Draco blushed and tried to frown, but was overcome by a smile. “Shut up, Potter. I’m suppose to be charming you, not the other way around.”

Harry only grinned and shrugged. “I can’t help it’s in my nature.”

The blonde rolled his eyes and reached behind him to take something off the bedside table. He brought his arm back to offer a plate of breakfast. Mostly fruits and eggs. Harry liked simple stuff.

“Taking a page from my book, I see. Mockery really is the sincerest form of flattery.”

“Take the plate before I kill you.”

Harry let out a laugh and sat up a bit, reclining against Draco. He started off eating, but somehow ended up feeding Draco berries.

“Why are you feeding me?” Of course Draco had no problem with it, he was only curious. He thought it was sweet Harry would do it for him.

“You look pretty when you eat berries. I like the way they stain your lips.” Of course he had his own personal enjoyment and motives for feeding Draco.

Draco took another berry into his mouth, and he let his tongue drift over the pad of Harry’s thumb.

Harry quickly pulled his hand back in surprise. “Nope. No more of that.” It was very easy to get him going when Draco got his mouth involved.

Draco let out a laugh. “You’re too easy, Potter.”

Harry finished eating before turning over and burying his face in Draco’s chest. “We’ll stay here, okay? We’re going to lay here all day and do nothing.”

“Fine with me. Only makes it easier for me to bugger your arse la-“

“Get up, then. We’re going out.” Harry said as he sat up, trying to escape the conversation.

Draco tilted his head. “Harry, it was only a joke. If you don’t want to do it, we don’t have to. It makes no difference to me.”

Harry paused and seemed to think a moment. “It isn’t that I don’t want to. I do. I really do. I suppose I’m just scared. I trust you, but I can’t help being scared.”

Draco nodded. “That’s okay. But if you ever let me, know that I’ll take my time and I’ll make it as sweet as possible for you.”

“I know.”

The conversation was left at that.

They went to Andromeda’s house and spent the morning with her and Teddy. After lunch they walked around Hogsmeade and saw that some of their younger friends were already shopping for their next year at Hogwarts. When they returned home, Draco locked himself in the kitchen to make dinner while Harry talked with the map. Spaghetti was the first thing Harry taught Draco to cook, so spaghetti is what Draco made tonight. It had silently become their favorite dish because of the memory of them flicking noodles at the wall to see if they would stick.

Harry made sure to let Draco know how delicious is was.

While Draco cleaned up, Harry went to the bathroom.

He stripped himself and stood in the mirror, examining his body. He already knew that no amount of worry about stop him from sleeping with Draco, but he still found himself nervous.

He turned around and looked back at his arse. He had never been insecure about it until now. It wasn’t particularly big or small. It was mostly muscle from Quidditch. There were a few freckles that Draco spoke fondly of, and there were a few dark hairs that didn’t make him self-conscious in the slightest. It looked perfectly fine to him. Average, really.

He remembered seeing Draco perform cleaning spells on himself sometimes. He decided it might be nice of him to do the same. He pulled out his wand and awkwardly aimed it. He looked away and blushed as he cast the charm. He let out a whimper and squirmed at the feeling of magic running somewhere so sensitive. He put his wand away and looked at his reflection once more before there came a knock at the door.

“Harry, love? Are you alright?”

“Yes.” He responded. “Just nervous.”

He was met with a moment of silence before Draco spoke up again. “I take it you’ve made your decision, then.”

“I’m yours.”

Draco smiled behind the door. “Won’t you come out, then? You know I’ll be gentle, loving, I’ll take my time, make you feel so good.” He tempted. “I know how you like it. Soft touches, sweet words. Come on, Harry. Won’t you get in bed with me?”

Taunting, light insults, Harry being a heathen and Draco breaking the wild man down. That was all Draco’s fantasy.

Harry was softer than that. He did enjoy Draco’s fantasy much more than he’d like to admit, but it wasn’t his. He liked it warm and loving, he wanted to be complemented, teased, he wanted nothing but pleasure. Draco knew exactly what he needed.

Harry slowly came out of the bathroom and Draco let his eyes take in the sight.

Harry was a bit tanner than him, he always had been. Rough patches of skin like little deserts, a few freckles scattered and colored like soil, hair of dark little forests, the most enchanting oceans of green, small but defined muscles, there was a softness in those rolling hills. He had all the beauty of nature with the sweet reddish lips and wild curls of some Greek nature deity. Harry looked as if he belonged in a Renaissance painting that Draco would have bought to keep in his room, for his own pleasure. A picture of allure and charm that he could never touch. Something higher than him, greater than him, something to bring him to his knees to pine over for the rest of his days.

“Water Nymph by Otto Theodor Gustav Lingner.” Draco was entranced, speaking before he realized the words that fell from his lips. “It was my father’s most prized painting. He said it was the pinnacle of beauty. That he’d forever love the nymph in the painting. It was terrible, I never understood it. But now I do. You are the single most beautiful thing that I have ever seen and I would do anything to touch you. I’ll spend the rest of my days pining for your attention. You enchant me as though you aren’t human. You own me, Harry. You always will. We simply must have your likeness made immortal in a painting.”

Harry’s jaw dropped and he covered himself, his face pink. He searched for words but couldn’t find the language to express himself.

“Oh, don’t do that. Don’t act so coy. You’ll only make it worse.” His blue eyes were intense and filled with lust as they caressed Harry’s body with their gaze. “I’d like to spend the rest of my days on my knees before you. You’d let me, wouldn’t you? You’d grant me that blessing.”

Harry was nearly throbbing and he looked away.

“Please, Harry. Lay on the bed.”

He laid face-down on the bed, staring at the bedside table as he listened to Draco walk behind him and crawl onto the bed.

“Don’t worry, love. I’ll be gentle.” He said as he sat on his knees behind Harry.

Harry nodded and blushed as he opened his ankles a bit.

Draco let out a soft chuckle in response and spread Harry’s muscled thighs, bending his knees so his hips were raised a bit, which allowed Draco a better angle. Whenever Harry got close, his legs always became terribly shaky and unstable, so he didn’t trust the lad to be up on his knees.

“Draco.” Harry whined. He could feel the way his cheeks parted due to the position. He almost felt like he was flashing Draco, it was obscene and embarrassing.

“I’ve got to get to your arse somehow.” Draco said with a chuckle. He then laid between Harry’s legs and set a hand on each thigh. He felt how tense the boy under him was. His eyes trained on his first target. Tight, hanging, darkly furred. He leaned in close and let his pointed tongue glide across Harry’s balls.

Harry let out a feverish whimper and fisted the sheets. Somehow, he didn’t expect that Draco would touch anything other than his opening.

Only seconds later and Draco’s tongue was tracing patterns all over Harry’s balls, patterns that Harry was far too preoccupied to interpret. He moaned and fought back the urge to move his hips. His muscles shifted under his skin as he struggled to cope with the tingling pleasure that rushed through him. It was too sweet for him to relax, but enough to distract his nerves.

Harry turned his whimpers to low hums as his body stopped struggling against the pleasure and gave it to it’s warmth. He indulged his desire to rock his hips. He felt the hands on his thighs run up his arse to grip his waist. He felt Draco groan against him and his hips stuttered at the vibration, lips parting at such a lovely feeling.

Draco felt Harry’s muscles relax and listened to the ambrosial noises he made. He let his tongue slide to play with the base of Harry’s length before running back over his balls. He then let his tongue slowly tease it’s way to Harry’s opening.

When he got there, he used his thumbs to spread Harry’s cheeks open, which made the boy squirm in response to cool air in such an intimate place. His eyes flickered to his next target. Small, a tempting reddish color, quivering slightly, virginal.

Harry seemed to brace himself as he felt the tip of Draco’s tongue softly swipe across his hole. He squirmed but didn’t have much of a response to it. It didn’t exactly feel good or bad, just different.

He relaxed a bit and felt the tongue lick a few more times before it pressed down against him.

The pointed tip of a tongue slowly teased his rim, sliding from the outside to just against the inside, flicking against the sensitive opening.

Harry let out a soft grunt and found himself shifting his hips under his skin, his body warming up to the electric pleasure that erupted from somewhere new.

Draco then let his tongue lick up and down the small hole, swirling around it and feeling Harry relax under him. He dipped his tongue in just slightly before letting it run around his rim once more, still staying a bit inside of him. He wanted Harry used to something inside of him. He wanted Harry to crave something bigger.

Harry was lit up with pleasure. His back arched and he pushed his hips to Draco, wanting more. He was panting and small grunts flowed out of him. His hips softly rolled, moving against Draco’s tongue.

Draco pulled away for a moment and Harry was left hyperaware of his hole. He could feel it was different. It was warm, wet, and relaxed. Draco had licked him open and he was overcome with the feeling that he needed to be filled.

He shivered at the feeling and felt the tongue press against him. He closed his eyes and sighed when the wet muscle slowly slid inside of him. Only the tip was in and his hole gave no resistance to such a small and pleasurable object.

“D-Draco.” He stuttered out the name and he wasn’t even sure why he said it. His voice was dripping with desire. Part of him was still in shock, he didn’t expect Draco to do all this for him. “More?” It was a request, he was still too coy to make any demands.

Draco smirked and pulled his tongue out. “Anything for you.” He was entranced by Harry, unable to deny such a plea. He slipped his tongue in as deep as he could, slowly letting it squirm inside of his lover.

A loud and low groan tore from Harry’s throat. It was unfiltered and raw. His face went red and he felt his inner thighs already starting to quiver. The rush of new pleasure had him aching from how hard he had become.

“Hmmm?” Draco hummed, making his tongue vibrate inside of Harry. Though the other couldn’t see it, he was extremely smug.

A louder groan came out and Harry’s back arched sharply. He found the arch was mostly in his lower back, as if his body was trying to bend over for Draco. It was mortifying, but it felt too good for him to be upset. A whimper fell from his lips as he felt his own tip leaking a bit. “D-Don’t hum like that!”

Draco had never been so conceited until this moment. Something about tongue fucking Harry had him feeling especially proud of himself. He could see the way Harry’s back arched and he felt the tremble of his thighs. He was overcome with pride, and he felt powerful.

He moved his tongue faster, sliding in and out, licking around, exploring the new territory, and searching for sensitive spots.

Harry was writhing on the bed, he had no idea it would feel so good. He whined and shook, something he wasn’t used to doing, but he couldn’t stop himself now. His grip on the sheets tightened and his face ended up buried in his pillow, turned to the side so he could breathe. His hips pushed back onto Draco and sped up with the other’s tongue. Everything felt light and tingly, as if he could float away at any moment. He wasn’t sure when, but he’d somehow become incredibly sensitive to the other’s attentions.

Harry was intoxicated by bliss, but Draco was utterly shattered by it. He was held captive by the noises Harry made. His tongue groveling for more. He was broken and the splendor of Harry’s pleasure was his only remedy.

His tongue pulled back so only the tip was in, fluttering a bit and no longer flexed to a point. It was pressed against Harry’s walls and didn’t try to compact itself to fit. He slid it in and the slightly bigger form made the groans above him come louder than before. Draco was momentarily thankful that they didn’t have neighbors.

Harry was free, wild for the tongue that pushed in as deep as it could. Any shame had left him. He let out every noise that overcame him and moved faster, silently demanding more.

Draco couldn’t refuse such a command. He pressed his face against Harry and shoved his tongue in. He felt how relaxed Harry had become. Though the rest of his body was tense and trembling against the pleasure, his hole had become slack and open. He pulled his tongue away and cast a spell that Harry had become terribly familiar with.

The spell coated Draco’s hand in a warm lube.

He pressed a finger to Harry’s entrance and smirked. “You should feel how open you are. It’s so beautiful. I did that, you know. I licked you open. I could do this forever if you’d let me.” He was so used to taunting Harry, but it was still so easy for him to say words that were sweet and beautiful, he knew that’s what Harry liked.

He slipped a finger in and was met with no resistance until he made it to his second knuckle. “Take a deep breath for me.”

Harry did as Draco said and felt the last of Draco’s finger enter. It was uncomfortable, but it didn’t hurt. He didn’t feel like he was being stretched open, but it did feel different. He shifted a bit and let out his breath.

“Are you alright?”

“Yea, I’m good.”

“Is it alright if I move?”

“Yes.” Harry nodded.

Draco nodded as well, even though Harry couldn’t see it.

He pulled his finger back halfway before pushing it back in. He slowly repeating the motion until he felt the relaxation spread deeper into Harry. It took a few thrusts for the deeper parts of Harry to relax, but when it did, he pulled his finger back further and pushed it in deeper. He stayed slow and watched Harry for a reaction.

At first, Harry didn’t respond much. He was focused on his breathing. In and out. It took him a moment to realize he was breathing in time to Draco’s finger. He was greatly embarrassed by that. He kept breathing while Draco’s finger went back farther and in deeper. At some point, he realized soft whimpers were dripping from his breaths and he wondered for how long he had been making noise.

Draco took the whimpers as a good sign and sped up slightly. He was already proud by the way he had Harry making such dulcet noises. Bliss flickered in his own body. He felt as if he had somehow gotten closer to his own orgasm by pleasuring Harry. Seeing such an ethereal and beauteous creature revel in ecstasy, he should have known that would be enough for his form to find pleasure.

Harry’s back arched and his shoulders raised. His whimpers became soft grunts, and occasionally, whines into his pillow. His composure cracked as his nerves left him. A breathy moan fell from his mouth and it sounded as if it came straight from a porno. “Give me another.” He was ready and he knew he it.

Draco’s lips parted in shock and he let another finger slowly wiggle in beside the other. He couldn’t control his own body, Harry’s words moved him. Only his fingertips were in, but he could feel a slight stretch. “Deep breath.”

Harry breathed in as Draco slid his fingers in. They made it halfway before they met resistance.

Draco paused and his eyes flickered up to Harry’s face. He saw furrowed eyebrows, parted lips, eyes shut, and a mix of pleasure and discomfort.

He decided to play it safe and he slowly pumped his fingers in and out, only getting halfway. As Harry got used to it and relaxed once more, his hole gave in, and gradually let the fingers in deeper.

Draco nearly melted at the way he felt Harry’s body give in to him. Being let in deeper, it sent a shiver through his body and made him throb in his pants. Harry was letting him in. It was an intoxicating realization. He was overjoyed to receive such an honor.

By the time he was a full two fingers deep, the boy’s thighs were shaking and his hips shifted almost constantly. He couldn’t stay still and he was a bit breathless. His moans and breaths mingled into one sound. Every exhale was some type of breathy keen that Draco had never heard before. He’d never heard such enrapturing music, but it was quick to become his favorite song.

Harry was losing any semblance of shame or pride. He only knew carnality and it’s warm embrace. His only desires were physical and nothing existed beyond the bed.

His tone dropped and a single word tore from the back of his throat, “Another.” His voice was desperate and mournful.

Draco could never hope to resist such a command. His eyes were filled with devotion as he looked upon Harry’s glorious form. He pulled back to only his fingertips and another finger slid in. Somehow, the process was easier with a third fingertip. As if Harry’s body knew it was coming and wanted it.

He pushed them only halfway between his first and second knuckle before he found resistance. He pumped his fingers like before, and his tongue went down to trace teasing patterns on Harry’s balls once more, knowing the third finger would be the most difficult.

Harry let out a mix of a groan and a shout and his face pushed into the pillow while his back arched sharply. He was hit with a wave of pleasure that left him needy. It only took a few seconds before he knew he was ready. “Deeper, I can take it.”

Draco let out a soft whimper at how confident and sure Harry was. Something about it was alluring, something about it made Draco eager to give in to every invocation. His heart and mind had been pulled into Harry, deeper than his fingers could ever reach, and he would never crave freedom again. He slowly let his fingers sink deeper, and sure enough, Harry was right.

His fingers slowly made it all the way in and Draco began gently pumping from his fingertips to the base of his fingers, reaching deep into his lover, grasping for the other’s pleasure.

Harry couldn’t contain himself anymore. His hips pushed back onto the fingers and he heard soft chuckle from behind him. “Shut up, Draco.”

“But love, you look so magnificent. Do it again.”

Soon, Harry was rolling his his hips back in time to Draco’s fingers. His hands were balled under his chest and kept him lifted a bit, his back remained arched and he found himself raising his hips higher as if his body wanted to bend over for Draco. He whined as he nearly found himself on his hands and knees, he was roughly halfway there but refused to get any closer to such a mortifying position. His hips moved quickly as he wanted more and more.

Draco’s breath was stolen at the sight of Harry moving his hips, taking his fingers in of his own accord. A low groan pushed past his lips and his back arched. The sight of Harry’s lustfulness moved his body to pleasure.

“Oh, look at you. So needy and loud. I don’t think I’ve ever been this turned on in my life. I’m leaking, Harry. I’m going to stain my clothes and I don’t even care, that’s what you’ve done to me. It’s all because of you. You look and sound so beautiful. I love it. I love you. I love you so much. I’m honored that you would let me do this, Harry.” He kissed Harry’s lower back. “Absolutely breathtaking.” He was losing all language, his mind overcome. All he had was his wordless devotion to the man before him.

Harry keened and trembled at the sweet words. A gentle sob rolled out of his mouth and his body twisted.

“I have something to show you. A little reward for being so lovely.” He suddenly found it easier and easier to give Harry the pretty words he craved.

His fingertips began seeking. He knew exactly what he wanted, he just had to find it. He checked the typical places, before his fingers accidentally brushed over the area. He felt something slightly spongey and knew he had it. He rubbed the spot inside of Harry and watched the boy wrack with sobs.

Harry gripped the sheets while needy wails ripped from his throat. He squirmed and quivered. Draco’s lubed fingers made him loose, wet, and warm in a place that had never been before. He felt dirty in the best possible way. He bit his lip and his body shook as he realized how much he enjoyed something so obscene. He pulled the sheets, grabbed at his own hair, rocked his hips back faster and harder. He did anything he could to cope with the pleasure that made him tremble and roar. The last of his hesitance and doubt were fingered out of him and he gave one more demand.

His hips raised, a silent plea, an offering. But that couldn’t be more backwards.

Draco was unworthy of such an oblation and he knew it. It wasn’t about him, it was about Harry. The raised hips were no offering, but a command that Draco eagerly obeyed. He served Harry, worshipped his flesh, and begged with his fingers that he may be blessed.

“Fuck me, Draco.”

And his pleas were answered.

Though he was wrecked by pleasure, his voice was more steady and sure than Draco had ever heard.

The boy behind him froze and nearly choked on his own breath. “P-Pardon?”

Harry didn’t hesitate to respond, “You heard me.”

Somehow, Harry had never been so domineering. Draco was almost intimidated by it. Even from the bottom, Harry had never been so in control.

Draco quickly tore his clothes off and began stroking himself with his lubed hand, trying to get as slick as possible.

Harry shifted again, unaware of how seductive the movements of his arse looked to the boy behind him.

Draco bit his lip, his eyes glued to the moving target before him. Part of him wanted to pounce and jump in tongue-first. But he didn’t. Perhaps, next time.

His throat was suddenly dry and he was blushing as he held on to Harry’s hips and aimed. “One more deep breath.”

Harry drew in a slow breath as he felt the pressure at his entrance turn into intrusion. He tried his hardest to stay relaxed but winced when Draco got halfway there. That’s when the pain began.

It was sharp but not entirely unfamiliar. Harry had fallen pretty hard on his arse before. It was nothing he couldn’t handle, but still, it wasn’t pleasant.

“Are you alright?” Draco saw the wince and paused.

Harry nodded. “I-I just need a moment. You’re big.” Though it didn’t feel great, for some lewd reason, he enjoyed the stretch.

Draco stayed perfectly still and one hand moved to stroke Harry’s back while the other reached around to allow his thumb to rub Harry’s tip.

Harry let out a whimper at the gentle pleasure that helped take his mind off the pain. He took a few deep breaths and shifted his hips, his body steadily getting used to Draco. “Bit deeper now.” His voice was small, but sure.

He felt the length inside of him slowly move further. He blushed and let out a soft moan.

Draco was only a few centimeters from being all the way in, when Harry winced once more. “I must admit, I’m impressed. You’re taking me so well, Harry. You’re doing so well.”

Words of affirmation. Harry needed it now more than ever. But by the same token, threats and taunts could also work wonders on him.

Harry took a few more deep breaths, and although it hurt some and was a bit uncomfortable, there was an undeniable excitement bubbling in him. He’d never felt so open yet so full before. He shifted his hips and let out a breathy moan at the thumb that circled his tip once more. The warm and still-lubed hand began to stroke him and pulled a gentle cry from his lips. He twisted and felt his body give in to the pleasure. “Bit deeper.” His voice was breathy and wanting.

Draco complied and slowly sank his hips in the rest of the way. He was buzzing with excitement from being surrounded by Harry. He was entirely overwhelmed. He was in awe that he was inside someone as lovely as Harry. It was warm, wet, and it was all his. His back was arched and he was softly panting from the squeeze alone. He’d almost forgotten how good it felt to be inside of someone else. Still, he’d always have a preference for being the one taking it.

He was still and continued to gently play with Harry’s body. Stroking his back and teasing his cock, pulling soft noises from him as if he were playing an instrument. It was the most seraphic music he’d ever heard.

Harry let sounds roll from his lips and thought nothing of them. Meaningless syllables that were heavy with pleasure, occasionally Draco’s name, and a rare swear. His body was done with the pain. All that was left was a slight discomfort and pleasure. “I’m good, Draco. Move.”

He obeyed. Hips slowly pulling back and pushing back in.

The first few thrusts were hesitant and careful. Harry didn’t have much of a response as the mix of discomfort and pleasure was almost confusing to his body. But as his form gave in and the discomfort slowly faded, he began to whimper and shift. But part of him was a bit smug as he felt Draco occasionally twitch inside of him.

Soon, the whimpers weren’t enough to help him cope with the feeling. He let out a whine and his fingers tightened in the sheets. The last of the discomfort faded and his breaths turned to soft pants. “Y-You can do more now.” He wasn’t sure what to say. Faster. Harder. Fuck me. Though he’d become confident in the bedroom, he’d always blush at saying something so obscene. It wasn’t something he was used to. He felt a bit awkward about voicing his desires.

Draco understood. “Anything for you.” He could never deny the man under him. He was ruled by the flesh of his lover, and would never desire freedom from it. He moved his hips a bit faster, sliding out to his tip, then almost all the way in. Though he was faster, he tried not to get rougher. He didn’t want to hurt Harry more than he had already had.

Harry let out a mix of a growl and a whine. Whatever it was, it was needy. He found that his opening was lit up with a thrill that shot across his lower stomach. Inside of him, he realized there were so many little nerve endings that he didn’t even know were there. It was almost overwhelming to feel such pleasure for the first time.

His hips began to shift and his back softly arched. He whined and decided that the feeling rushing through his body was much more important to him than his pride. He let his hips sink down onto Draco, before pulling back. He moved in time to the thrusts and found himself taking Draco in even faster than before. He let out a loud moan and his jaw dropped. “More, I want more!”

He had hardly been aware of the shift, but everything felt so much better than before. Any discomfort was gone and he was overwhelmed by pleasure. He couldn’t stop himself from moving with Draco’s hips. He was greedy and needed more.

Draco was quick to obey. His own gasps for breath turning to moans as he heard the gentle slap of his skin against Harry’s. He had also become aware of a sickening wet noise coming from between them. He loved it. He looked down and watched the golden boy keen for his dick. It was a sight he never thought he’d see, but he was thankful that he did. He groaned and let a hand drift around to gently rub Harry’s tip again. He was desperate to make Harry feel good, the lovely body under him was entirely overwhelming, it was enchanting, rapturous, the trembling form under him owned his body and soul. He craved to Harry, laboring for the warmth that called him forward, caught in a wretched devotion for the man in his arms.

Harry nearly shouted and his body twisted as he was pleasured from both ends. Moving his hips back impaled him further onto Draco, but moving his hips forward brought him to a teasing hand. His lips parted as he gasped for breath and let out every whine and wail that he wanted. A small smile spread across his face as he was overcome by such a wonderful feeling.

“Harder, Draco!” He was doubtless that Draco would obey. He felt good and nothing else mattered. He wanted more and demanded it. He wasn’t asking, or begging, he wasn’t coy or ashamed, he knew what he wanted and he was going to have it no matter what.

Draco’s breath was stolen and he gave in to the demand without thought, mindless and obedient to the divine display before him. He let himself move harder and faster inside the boy, the slap of skin getting louder as his gasps were overcome by groans and whines. He could already feel the tingling anticipation of the edge. If not for his mind being clouded by desire, he might have felt embarrassed by how quickly Harry got him there.

Harry was overwhelmed with his own noises. He’d no language left to express himself. Instead, all he had were unintelligible syllables. He groaned, sobbed, and howled at the pleasure that reduced his muscles to weak trembles. He felt helpless to the bliss that knocked him around like rough waves on the sea.

He clawed at the sheets and lifted his hips up. He accepted that his body wanted to bend over for Draco. He rocked his hips back in a desperate attempt to keep up with Draco’s thrusts. He was more animal than he’d ever been before.

Draco wailed out, giving in to the desire that burned inside of him. He fucked Harry as fast as he could as he listened to his own noises jump in pitch and become frantic. A wild smirk spread across his face and his torso twisted as he felt that he was only moments from the edge. “Oh! Harry! Fuck, you’re so perfect! I love you! So beautiful!”

Harry howled in response and his hands scrambled for purchase. He knew Draco was close, he also knew that penetration alone wouldn’t be enough to get himself off. His own pleasure plateaued and he was more than okay with it. He didn’t expect it to make him cum. But he did want to make sure Draco came inside of him.

He knew his plan would work because Draco did the same thing almost every time.

He clamped down onto Draco and listened to the boy sob behind him.

Draco froze and his hands gripped Harry’s hips, his thighs trembled slightly and his head tossed back as his body shot up. His back was arched and his lips were parted as he basked in the glory of Harry’s form. “Oh fuck, you cunning little minx. You’re really going to do this to me?” He knew it wasn’t fair. He knew he would cum and Harry wouldn’t. But he could never resist Harry’s body. He gave in. “I’ll have whatever you’ll give me, love.”

He slaved for this pleasure he was given, and if his cum was the sacrifice required by Harry, then he wouldn’t dream of refusing the command.

A satisfied smirk took over Harry face as Draco slipped back into his rough pace. He enjoyed the pleasure and listened to the glorious sounds behind him. In some sordid way, it was amusing. As if the sound of Draco was nothing more than entertainment, and Draco’s cock was the control that he was just learning to use with. He let out a low groan and a shiver ran through him as he really listened to how close Draco was. He heard trembling in Draco’s voice, the frantic need, the desperation, the way it cracked and jumped in pitch. It was like a song, the way his voice shook and changed key, like the little nuances of a singer’s voice. A melody of desire and orgasmic grief. Sweet music filled the room, and Harry reveled in the wretched song that echoed only for him.

Draco was tossed carelessly onto the edge and he could do nothing to stop the way his body drifted closer and closer to the end. It was all so intense and fervid. His noises were loud and roaring. His body shook and his hips stuttered, though they still struggled to move as quickly as possible. He gave a cry at his final breath, went beyond the edge, and fell.

His orgasm crashed into him and he whined feverishly, desperate little noises coming at the end of every exhale, uncontrollable. A fruitless confession of his vices and satisfactions. He kneeled in the shaking thrill that washed over him, feeling himself shoot into Harry. He was almost embarrassed by how hard he came. It knocked him off his balance and he found himself fallen on Harry’s body, which still trembled under him.

Harry’s jaw dropped and his face went red as he felt something shoot inside of him. He whimpered and squirmed at the feeling of somehow being even fuller than before. It was like a foreign tickle deep inside of him.

He was filled a few seconds longer as Draco collected himself and pulled out. He nearly collapsed onto the bed and took a few deep breaths to calm himself down.

Harry was known for being oblivious, but sometimes, he could be quite stupid as well. Like now, because for some reason, he didn’t expect he would cum that night. He genuinely believed it was over.

A familiar spell being mumbled behind him made him realize that Draco wasn’t quite done with him. His fingers were lubed once more.

“Oh, Harry. Poor, innocent, Harry. Don’t tell me you thought it was over?”

When Harry heard nothing more, he realized Draco was genuinely asking. He blinked a few times and tried to respond. “Uh, well. You came.” He shifted his hips hesitantly. He was still burning with pleasure, his body keening towards an edge that he hadn’t reached, desperately clawing for it, only to be slowly pulled further away with each passing second.

“Whenever you cum in me, you always make sure I cum too. Merlin, sometimes you make me cum first. But no matter what, we both finish. Why would this be any different?”

Harry blushed and sputtered, trying to find a response. He shifted again and tried to curl up, as if wanting to disappear. “I-I don’t know.” He was anticipating how Draco would touch him, so he wasn’t much for coherent thought.

Draco bit his lip. “Could you feel how hard you made me cum? I didn’t just spill out, I shot into you. I couldn’t keep myself up, your warmth weakened me, Harry. Brought me to my knees to bask in your glory. You held me up when my muscles failed me. You stole my breath and pushed me down. I only wish to give you something in exchange for such a generous gift.” He grinned and leaned down by Harry’s ear, speaking in a low voice. “I’m going to make you cum, hard.”

Harry shuddered at the low voice that was so close to his ear. “Do it.” He didn’t ask, command, or dare. He tempted.

Draco pressed two fingers to Harry’s opening. “Glorious.” He slipped them in and began to seek.

It took only a moment and Draco had found the spot inside of Harry that made him writhe. His other hand slipped to caress the stream of precum that leaked from Harry’s tip.

He squirmed and whined at the thumb that circled his tip. His whines becoming groans as he was stroked, setting his body right back on it’s course to the edge. A few pumps and it was as if he had never left.

His body shook and he let out low moans, until Draco’s fingers began to move again. He rubbed the spot directly and mercilessly.

A shout ripped from Harry’s throat, raw and needy. He writhed, clawing at the sheets, his hips keening shakily to Draco’s giving hands. He loved the way he was touched. His cries were desperate and building, he could feel the edge getting closer and closer, letting out noises that were part groan and part growl as he felt the edge inching closer. He anticipated it, chased it, only moments away like water rushing back to crash forward in a powerful wave.

Draco could hear how close Harry was. He could hear how desperate and excited Harry was for it. He was in control. He could make Harry beg for it, he could make Harry cry for it, but truthfully, he couldn’t. Harry was far too captivating to be tormented like that. All Draco could do was give every piece of himself to Harry’s pleasure.

Harry’s voice jumped in pitch and needy grunts fell from his gasps as he was pushed to the edge. He rolled his hips as fast as he could and trembles wracked through his body. He fisted the sheets and blushed at the way his cock twitched in Draco’s hand. He twisted and squirmed around, thrashing at the pleasure that had grown even more.

He cried and frantically moved his hips, chasing his orgasm. But the ocean finally relented, the wave rushed forward and crashed into him. His back arched and his arms gave out. His face dropped into his pillow and he let out a raw and throaty wail as he came. He shot out just as Draco wanted him to, whimpers mixing with his soft gasps as he succumbed to the aftershocks.

His hips slowly lowered back onto the bed as Draco pulled his hands away.

Draco laid by Harry’s trembling form and held him close. “So beautiful, so lovely, absolutely perfect. Thank you for letting me do that, Harry. I love you so much.” He whispered as he kept his lover close. “Happy birthday.”

Neither of them stayed awake much longer afternoon that.

In the morning, Harry woke up to a mortifying dull pain in his arse. He refused to leave the bed, or even sit up, for fear of embarrassing himself even more. By lunch, Draco had seduced Harry into letting him remedy the ache with his tongue to soothe the opening and a healing hand on his cock.

Harry couldn’t say no.


	40. A Silver Ring

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The next sixteen years of Harry and Draco’s lives.

Harry walked down the aisle at his wedding with similar nerves to what he felt on his first day teaching at Hogwarts.

He was late to the opening ceremony and McGonagall held back a chuckle as he awkwardly took his place among the adults who once taught him.

Thankfully, he wasn’t late to his wedding.

The wedding happened in his second year as a teacher, during spring break, in a garden. The floral setting was Draco’s idea. It was small, friends and family only. Teddy was the ring bearer, and Bill and Fleur’s daughter Victorie was the flower girl. The map was kept near Harry at all times. Along with his nerves, he also felt a certain sureness. Like he knew for a fact that he was doing the right thing.

As the years went on, the Ministry had also been reformed since Harry’s peers entered. Programs to help the poor, the orphans, laws protecting the rights of lycanthropes and house elves, they all tried their damndest to undo the evil and corruption that held the Ministry for so long. Soon, more and more young rebels came in to fix what had been left broken.

After spring holiday, a student was quick to point out the new ring on his finger. His wedding ring was silver with an emerald shaped like a snake’s head.

He smiled and said, “I married a Slytherin who insisted on using the ring as a way to brand me. Cheeky bastard. It was a spring wedding in a little garden, quite lovely.”

The class erupted in accusations as to who Harry could have married. Given it was only his second year teaching, he had no idea how to reel the class in, so he let them get it all out. Word spread and by the end of the day, he had students asking who he was married to. He decided to make it into a game. He offered up a hundred Galleons to anyone who could guess who he married.

Two months later and someone finally noticed the silver band on Draco’s finger, with a diamond on it cut to look like a rose. He shrugged and said he was married.

But no one realized they were married to each other.

A week after the revelations were made and Draco scooped Harry in his arms and kissed him in the middle of the crowded hallway, bragging about how he was the mysterious Slytherin that Harry had wed.

The next year, in the summer after Teddy’s fourth birthday and after years of conversation and thought, Draco had his heir.

Scorpius came out wrinkly and bald, but with piercing blue eyes. He also shared his pale skin with his father, but he got an endearing button nose from his surrogate mother, Astoria Greengrass.

Harry loved the child at first sight, James Potter immediately referred to him as his grandson, and Teddy asked if Scorpius was his brother. Upon seeing the child, his eyes went blue and a shock of bleach blonde hair appeared for a moment.

Teddy grew up with a strange family dynamic. By the time he was three, he understood that Remus and Nymphadora were his parents, and even though he didn’t understand death, he knew that they were dead. He called them his mother and father. He knew that Harry’s parents and Sirius were his father’s best friends, he also knew about the map. Though he couldn’t read, Harry let him talk to it and would read out what everyone was saying.

Remus and Harry agreed that letting Teddy grow up with the map would help normalize it for him, rather than throwing it on him later and risk it becoming an emotional burden.

Because of it, Teddy called James and Sirius his uncles, and spoke of Lily as if she were his aunt. He also called Andromeda and Narcissa his nans, seeing them both as grandmothers. But then, there was Harry and Draco. He knew Harry was his godfather, so he saw no problem referring to Harry as his father, as well as Remus. Even Remus understood and took no offense to it. Since Draco was Harry’s husband, Teddy also thought it made sense that he should refer to Draco as his father too. Remus was his father, Harry was his dad, and Draco was his pére. Of course it was Draco’s idea that Teddy call him father in French. With Draco and Harry being his unofficial fathers, it only made sense to him that Scorpius should be his brother.

Scorpius knew Harry and Draco as his fathers. He understood Narcissa, Andromeda, James, and Lily to be his grandparents. He referred to Remus and Sirius as his uncles, and Nymphadora as his aunt. He didn’t really understand what uncles and aunts were suppose to be, but he wanted to call them that since he saw them as family. He was quick to call Teddy his brother.

The first time Teddy referred to Harry as his dad, he nearly had a panic attack. Teddy grew up calling Draco “pére”, so Scorpius copied, knowing it was French for father. But when he turned to Harry with his big blue eyes and called him dad, Harry had to excuse himself to go cry.

Something about it scared him. He was afraid he would mess it up. He felt like a big responsibility was being put on him, but he also felt so loved.

It was natural for him to call Teddy his godson, a few years and he simply called him his son. At first, he referred to Scorpius as his kid. He knew Draco intending for Harry to also father Scorpius, they’d had a million conversations about it, but the idea of parenthood still unnerved him. By the time Scorpius was only a few months old, he was telling all his friends about his two sons. Around the same time, Teddy began asking if he could spend the weekends with Harry and Draco, who immediately gave him a room in their house. They decorated it for him, he moved some of his clothes and toys in, and he had his second home with his fathers and brother.

Around the same time, Luna and Rolf were traveling the world with their first son as Magizoologists, Ron was a prominent Auror, Hermione was on the way to becoming the youngest Minister for Magic in history, Neville was apprenticing to eventually run the Herbology department at Hogwarts, and the kids idolized Pansy as a wizard cop who puts away bad people.

Dean and Seamus had also wed by then, and were living together in the countryside with three dogs and a pesky stray cat that they had unofficially adopted. They spent their days turning muggle sports into magical ones to broaden the work of the Department of Magical Sports and Games.

Shortly after the birth of Scorpius, there was a divorce.

Everyone was surprised, but no one was unhappy.

Draco and Harry both drank in celebration.

Narcissa finally divorced Lucius. She’d also gotten him into a bit of trouble. He’d been tried for his crimes as a dark wizard, but his blackmailing, slander, and threats had gone unchecked. She sent an anonymous letter to Wizengamot, detailing and giving evidence of all the smaller crimes Lucius had gotten away with. It was enough to have him convicted once more. With him away, she filed for divorced, and became a free woman.

The house elves were clothed and sent away, many of Lucius possessions were given away, and Narcissa moved to stay with Andromeda and Teddy.

Malfoy Manor was quiet and empty.

Two years after the birth of Scorpius, and just before Luna and Rolf had their second son, a boy was born in the cold of December.

James Sirius Potter.

Scorpius claimed him as his brother immediately and Teddy momentarily copied his bright green eyes before declaring that he was going to teach him French.

It was the most terrifying moment of Harry’s life when the surrogate mother handed the child off to Harry. He had Harry’s dark curls and bright green eyes.

Harry was a dad yet again, Draco was pére, and Scorpius and Teddy had another brother. Andromeda, Narcissa, James and Lily were grandparents to yet another child. Remus and Sirius were uncles, and Nymphadora was his aunt.

\- - - - -

Fifteen years after Harry and Draco graduated and they’d never been so excited to return to school. It was Teddy’s last year, and James’ first.

Though they were now in their early thirties, Harry and Draco hadn’t changed that much. Harry’s hair had gotten curlier and longer, his scar was a bit more faded and turned to something white and tapered out, making it look like real lightening, he’d gotten tanner, and swore up and down he’d grown a few more centimeters. He didn’t, but he claimed he did.

Draco’s hair had somehow gotten blonder, he actually was a bit taller, more muscular, and he somehow managed to dress even more lavishly than he did growing up.

Their sex drives were still as high as the day they’d met, Harry blames Draco’s good looks. He also struggled just as greatly to stay quiet in bed, and they were extremely thankful for silencing charms.

Teddy sat in year six. Years fifth through second were littered with Weasley’s, Luna’s first son, and Scorpius. Though the Weasley bunch had remained mostly Gryffindor, two Ravenclaws and a Hufflepuff came out as well. With the introduction of Luna’s second son, Lysander, and James Potter, Hogwarts was going to be overrun by the children of Harry and his friends.

Teddy had been sorted into Hufflepuff all those years ago. The map had been activated and in Harry’s pocket that day, Remus was there for the ceremony and he was so proud to say his son was a Hufflepuff, just like his wife. He couldn’t have been happier.

Of course, Scorpius was a Slytherin, just like one of his fathers. Draco had been so happy, he nearly shouted, “Yes!” in the middle of the ceremony. At that point, Draco had become the Slytherin Head of House.

But Draco and Harry weren’t the only ones of their old class present that day. By then, Neville had moved up to Herbology Professor as Sprout had retired.

McGonagall was staring at the list of new students with a sad smile. She went through the names until she reached one that she hadn’t said in years. “James Potter.”

Everyone was excited. The son of a professor, a war hero, stepping up to take his place as the next big Gryffindor on campus. That’s how it always was with the Potter boys.

Except, he didn’t.

He sat down and the hat was placed on his head. Two seconds of silence passed, and then the hat roared, “Better be ..... Slytherin!”

Harry didn’t even hesitate to clap for his son, who looked back at him, unsure. But Harry’s smile and applause made him take his seat at the Slytherin table with a grin.

Even Draco was a bit surprised, but he saw how proud Harry was, and brushed it off.

Scorpius got up to sit at the end of the table with his brother and congratulated him.

The Weasley children, the sons of Luna, and most of Harry’s kids all knew about Harry’s past. The Weasley children were a nosy and unstoppable force, Harry couldn’t have kept his past from him, and even if he wanted to, they’d learn all about his childhood and life in their first year History of Magic lessons. The sons of Luna were told by the Weasley kids, but Harry’s own children found out in school.

When it was their turn, each entered their history class, got their textbook, skimmed through it, found the chapter on Harry, and binged it all that night.

The earliest version of that chapter was mostly gossip and speculation. The moment Harry saw it, he set the record straight. He was truthful and didn’t go into too much detail, even though he probably still went into more detail than needed. He admitted to the abuses and trauma he went through in his childhood and beyond. He was open and vulnerable for the sake of preventing history from repeating itself. It was also a testimony to people like Sirius, who had to silently face abuse in their childhood. Harry wouldn’t stand for silence. Not any longer.

When Teddy read it, he ran to Harry’s office in the middle of the night, shyly knocking on the door.

Harry, like the other professors, lived on campus in rooms that were connected to their offices. Harry pulled a robe on over his pajamas and opened his office door to find Teddy standing there with his trademark blue hair, but instead of Remus’ chocolate brown eyes, Harry met teary green ones.

He was about to ask what was wrong, but knew when Teddy silently held up his opened textbook to reveal a picture of Harry when he was sixteen years younger. A dirty face and terrified expression, feverishly casting some spell. It was one of the only pictures that were taken during the war.

He brought Teddy in and answered every single question the boy had for him. In the end, he said, “I didn’t want to tell you about these things because it still isn’t easy to talk about. I wanted you to know, you’re my kid, you deserve to know. Remember how I told you I don’t like yelling, loud noises, and bright flashes? This is why. It reminds me of things I don’t want to remember. I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you, I didn’t know how. I love you, Teddy.”

“I love you too, dad.”

They left it at that. The next day, Teddy fell asleep in his DADA class, and Harry decided to let it pass. They’d both had a long night.

Every year he would get a slew of questions in the beginning by students who went ahead and binged the chapter on Harry and the war. He would also receive questions throughout the start of the spring term, when it was actually time for the first years to study the chapter. He didn’t mind answering them, and as repeated questions arose, he made suggestions for an updated version of the textbook.

By the time Scorpius came through, the textbook was updated and ready. Harry went through the same night with Scorpius that he did with Teddy. He ended it the same way.

“I love you, Scorpius.”

“I love you too, dad.”

But James wasn’t very interested in history. He had an interest in Transfigurations. He hounded McGonagall with questions, theories, all sorts of things. He spent his first few months practically attached to her hip. McGonagall didn’t mind at all, she thought his interest was adorable and loved the idea of a Potter boy who was more interested in academics than mischief.

That was until James spent more time with the Weasley clan. Some of them idolized George and the late Fred’s masterful pranks.

They would occasionally pull a few, but nothing too big. Strangely, McGonagall was thankful that they weren’t as bad the Weasley twins, definitely not half as bad as the Marauders.

Harry had fallen victim to only one prank. He ended up with his chair stuck to his arse for three class period before finally sending an owl to Draco to come help him. The prank had been pulled four years ago and he still hasn’t lived it down.

The winter term was winding down to an end, and everyone was excited for Christmas. The latest “prank” had actually been sort of adorable. The Weasley boys, and Scorpius and James, managed to hang mistletoe around the campus. It would announce whenever two people walked under it and would trap them there until they kissed. Thankfully, they also charmed it to accept kisses on the cheek since they didn’t actually want to force two strangers to kiss.

Harry had become quite skilled at avoiding the mistletoe and found himself proud that he was “immune to pranks”. But James didn’t like that at all.

With a lack of interest in history, he didn’t study the chapter on his father. This made him unaware of the true extent to the war and completely oblivious to abuse. Therefore, he was blissfully unaware of why Harry was so freaked by shouting, loud noises, and sudden bright lights.

Wizards had a funny little version of a firecracker. It was a small ball that gave a loud yell and gave a bright spark whenever it hit it’s target. They were banned from Hogwarts for obvious reasons.

James thought his father’s fears were unfounded and not that serious. It’s like finding out a friend is scared of clowns and coercing them into watching a clip from a circus. His intentions were only to freak Harry out a bit, but it was all in good fun, so he thought it would be okay. He had no idea how serious it was.

After lunch, as everyone was on their way to their next class, he let them loose. There was only three.

Harry didn’t know what happened.

He heard the loud pang of the poppers and was suddenly surrounded by bright flashes. He heard the gasps and yelps of children in response to the sudden noise, then heard his own voice rise, letting out a choked shout before he was suddenly on the ground. He hit the floor but didn’t feel any pain. He looked around with wide eyes, feeling like he couldn’t breathe. He took in deep breaths but it wasn’t enough, he sped up until he was taking in large gasps of air, unable to fill his lungs. His chest ached and one hand went to scratch at his throat, trying to make the invisible hold on it release. His other hand scrambled for his wand and that’s when he realized how bad he was shaking. He couldn’t keep a grip on it and it clattered to the ground. His body curled into a shaking ball and his legs pushed him against the wall, trying to brace himself against something.

He ended up scrambling to sit against the wall, turned to the side so he didn’t have to face anyone. He panted for air and felt his heart thub in his ears. His chest ached and he felt like he was choking. He felt himself sweating as tears fell from his eyes. He hated being like this, especially in front of others. He tried to calm himself down, but the moment he stopped panting, a pained whine slipped from his throat. He shivered and stared at the ground, feeling just as helpless as he did when he walked out into the woods to die.

He told himself everything was fine. He knew everything was fine. Hogwarts wasn’t being attacked, everyone was fine, he knew this, but it didn’t matter. It was as if somewhere, deep inside himself, he didn’t really believe everything was fine, and he was petrified.

His eyes were open, wildly seeking, he was listening, but he didn’t take in any of the sights and sound around him. He was beginning to disassociate, his mind pulling him out of reality to take his consciousness somewhere safer, a desperate attempt to for the mind to preserve itself.

He didn’t hear McGonagall demand that everyone back away from him, he didn’t realize a majority of the student body of Hogwarts were crowded against the walls of the hall, staring at him.

He let out a noise like an injured animal as he struggled to breathe. Choked sobs worked their way out of his mouth as he tried to cry through his inability to breathe. But he couldn’t even hear himself, much less feel the way his body moved to let out those noises.

James watched in horror, wishing he could take it all back. He shed a few tears of his own, knowing this was all his fault.

Scorpius stood frozen, never feeling so helpless in his life. He wanted to help, but he didn’t know how. All he could do was stand and watch.

Teddy fell to his knees and covered his own mouth, his eyes squinting as he teared up. He hated seeing his dad in so much pain.

Then, there was blue. Familiar and piercing blue eyes.

Harry’s widened as he took in the sight of blue eyes kneeling beside him. He leaned towards them and his hands gripped Draco’s robes.

“Potter, look at me. Are you okay if I touch you?”

Harry gritted his teeth, letting out a mix of a shout and a sob as he frantically nodded. Those blue eyes pulled him out of his detachment.

Draco slowly brought Harry to sit up and look him in his eyes. “I need you to take deep breaths for me, okay. Breathe with me.” He started off taking in breaths just slightly slower than Harry. Harry slowed to match his pace, gradually letting those blue eyes bring him to breathe slower and slower, till his pace was only a bit faster than normal.

Draco saw a small bursted ball on the ground and picked it up. “It was a popper. Look at it.”

Harry let out pained whimpers as his breathing picked up a bit. For some reason, he couldn’t look at it. He fell in the arms of his lover but soon began to physically struggle. “No! Please, I can’t do this!”

Draco pulled back and cupped Harry’s face. “Look me in my eyes, Potter.” He didn’t. “Harry.” Draco spoke in a firmer tone, but Harry was staring off, beginning to disassociate again. “Harry!”

His eyes snapped to meet the blue ones before him. “I CAN’T!” His breathing picked up again. He thrashed to get away from Draco, a silent and wandless spell leaked out of him. It was something he had picked up from his studies of the dark arts. He and Draco were both surrounded by a dark purple smoke that had poured from Harry’s hands, protecting them from a nonexistent threat. It was just wispy and sheen enough to let everyone see what was happening inside.

Draco leaned closer so their noses were nearly touching. “Harry, look into my eyes. What color are they?”

Harry blinked at the question, still on the verge of hyperventilating. “Uh, b-blue?” He somehow wasn’t sure if that was the right answer.

“Can you tell me what color your eyes are?”

“Green?”

“Yes, Harry.” Draco conformed, “They’re green. You’re at Hogwarts, Harry. You’re a teacher, you teach DADA. Everything is going to be alright.”

“I teach DADA.” He repeated as if he was reminding himself. He still wasn’t sure what he was meant to do with the information, but it gave him something to focus on.

“You have to teach your next class, soon. Remember? It’s almost time for your third year DADA lesson.”

Harry squinted and his eyes flickered before meeting Draco’s again. “DADA lesson?” He tilted his head. “Third year ..... yes.” He was starting to remember. “W-We were going to discuss Vampires. Scorpius has a lot of questions.”

Draco smiled. “Curious, isn’t he? Just like you were. I fear you’ve tempted him into DADA, you know it’s his favorite subject.”

“It is. He loves the class.” His voice was smaller and more frail than any of the students had ever heard. His breaths were still a bit fast, his chest still hurt, and he still shook a bit. But he was much better than before. He spoke softly as he worked through his terror. “Victorie likes it too, Bill and Fleur’s first daughter. I think she’s quite excellent at DADA. Also has an affinity for Transfigurations, like James.”

Draco spoke with him about students and classes while everyone watched in a mix of amazement and fear. They couldn’t believe someone would hurt Harry like that. Students mumbling about their disgust were heard around James, who had never seen his father so afraid before. Everyone was furious that someone would do this to such a kind professor, and war hero.

Seeing Harry’s improved condition, McGonagall rushed closer to the scene, and Draco wordlessly held up the popper. She grew furious and turned to the students, demanding that the culprit turn themself in, or else she would find a way to punish the entire school.

James heard the students around him wondering how someone could do that to someone as traumatized and broken as Harry. He had no clue what they could be talking about. Given Harry’s reaction, and the words of the students around him, he knew there must be something he hadn’t been told about Harry.

Harry slowly grounded himself with Draco’s questions and blue eyes. The smoke evaporated and he found himself mostly able to breathe again.

He didn’t care about where he was anymore, he laid back on the ground and took slow and deep breaths, trying to soothe himself. He stared at the ceiling and took in all the little details.

Students were dismissed, but Harry’s kids lingered behind.

Draco helped Harry stand and gave McGonagall a sad look. “I should probably take him to the hospital wing for a while.”

She nodded, “That would be best.”

Harry finally seemed to realize what had happened and he teared up. “Oh no, I did all that. Right in front of everyone.” He covered his face. “I’m so pathetic.”

“You aren’t! You nearly died, so many times. But here you are, still standing. You’re the bravest, most stubborn, piece of shit I ever met! Come on, then. Let’s go.” Draco wrapped an arm around Harry and turned to see his kids. He gave them a small smile, “Go on to class, your dad will be okay. I’ll take care of him.”

He took Harry along, “Come on, let’s get you some sweets, yea? Something to stabilize your blood sugar.”

McGonagall filled in for Harry’s last class, letting the students sit and work on their homework for the period.

Harry stayed in the hospital wing for the rest of the day. Neither Harry nor Draco made an appearance at lunch. Neville looked sadly and knowingly at Harry’s seat. He knew exactly how Harry felt.

That evening, James stayed holed up in his room, taking in every word of the chapter on Harry and the war.

He nearly felt like puking when he read about the verbal and physical abuse, the yelling, the threats, the dark and small cupboard. There was a photo of Harry when he was a child, wearing clothes that were much too big for his unusually short and thin frame. There was a bruise on his cheek and his eyes were completely hollow.

Then on to all the trauma and heartbreak of his years at Hogwarts. It was insane to think his own dad nearly died so many times. Was hunted like an animal, manipulated and hurt. He read about the war and Harry’s pivotal role in it. How he really did die for a while, but came back stronger. How he battled it out with Voldemort himself, and stopped him. The explosions, cries at the final breaths of children and adults alike, the bodies, the flame, the smoke and ash, and it was only sixteen years ago. There was still a bit of rubble and a few injured spots on the grounds of Hogwarts. But it was easy to feel unattached to what happened. It was as if he finally realized he was living on a battlefield.

He finally realized his father was a traumatized war hero.

He finally understood.

He sprinted to his dad’s office, not caring if he was seen after hours. He gently knocked on the door, not wanting to scare Harry with a sudden noise.

He shifted nervously outside, squirming in his skin.

The door opened and he stood up straight. “Pére, is dad here?”

Draco nodded and let James in. “Neither of us can sleep, thankfully tomorrow is Saturday. Go on and talk to him. I think he’d like to see you.”

James hurried in and his bare feet padded along to find Harry.

He went to the back room and found Harry sitting on his bed.

Harry turned to him and gave a weak smile. “Come here, James.” He opened his arms, but paused when he saw the book in his hands. “Oh. You read it, didn’t you?”

James nodded.

Harry sighed. “I’m sorry for never telling you. I didn’t know how. It’s. It’s a lot.”

“The poppers were mine.” He blurted out his confession before he grew too afraid to admit it.

Harry blinked a few times and his voice came out small and heartbroken, “What?”

“The poppers were mine. I had no idea they would scare you like that, I’m so sorry!” He stepped towards his father, feeling like he might throw up from his own guilt.

“Y-You.” His breathing picked up. He didn’t know how to react. He wasn’t angry, or afraid, or forgiving. He wasn’t sure what he was feeling. Maybe shock. “You did it on purpose?”

“I didn’t know they would scare you like that! It was just suppose to be a joke! I didn’t mean for it to turn out like that!” He began tearing up, desperate for Harry to tell him that it was okay.

But he didn’t.

Instead, Harry was silent for a while, his eyes flickering to look at anything else in the room. “I-I.” He tried to find words after a moment. His lips parted and his tongue searching for language among the syllables that were caught in his throat. But he’d no way to communicate.

“I. Why, w- you just- I.” He closed his mouth and tried to think, but his mind was blank.

“I know you didn’t mean for it to turn out like that. You didn’t mean for it to scare me that bad. You didn’t know I would panic like that. You didn’t know about the abuse and you didn’t know that much about the war. You didn’t know. I even understand you only meant to scare me a little bit, just for fun. Probably thought I’d just jump and squeal or something. You didn’t know how afraid I would be. I get it.” He really tried to understand. He did understand. So much was placed on him as a child and he wouldn’t dream of doing the same to his own kids. But it was hard and he didn’t know what to do. “But James, I told you three about my fears for a reason. If someone yells at me, I break down. The last time someone yelled at me, Draco had to force me to eat because I refused to for two days, took him seven hours to coerce me out of the broom closet, twelve more to get me to speak. The flashes remind me of the curses and spells flying around. Loud noises remind me of the explosions. Fuck. That’s how we lost Fred Weasley, George’s twin.” He teared up a bit. “I fucking miss him. Taken out by the rubble of an explosion, crushed to death!” His voice strained to speak, his throat tightening and threatening to close, burning with sadness. “Teddy’s parents, oh dammit!” He brought his knees close to his chest and he shook his head. “I was so scared when I first went to see Teddy after the war. It took me months to go see him. I watched his parents fucking die, and now I’m responsible for him. Fuck. I couldn’t handle that. I couldn’t stand the sight of him because he looked so much like Remus! He still does, oh Merlin.”

He took in a deep breath and shook his head. “I don’t know what the hell I’m doing, unloading all this on you. You’re a child. You’re a child and I’m insane.” He stood up and walked off, digging around in his stuff to find some chocolate. “Remus used to give students chocolate.” He shoved some in his mouth before offering a handful to James.

James looked up into Harry’s eyes and saw just how deep the fear ran. He accepted it and ate the chocolate.

He apologized once more.

“I get it. I really do. I’m not angry or upset. I understand your intentions. I’m just ..... I’m still shaky.” He said as he nibbled on some more of the sweet. “I love you, James.”

“I love you too, dad.”

Harry sniffled and wrapped his arms around his son, hugging him tight. “It’s okay, I forgive you.”

James didn’t say anything else, he just let a few silent tears slip.

He ended up spending the night with his dads, returning to his room the next morning.

Harry took the weekend to recover from the event. He didn’t leave his room much, and everyone understood.

He took his time and went back to teaching on Monday. He started his classes off by saying the prank had been pulled by a student, who shall remain unnamed, who hadn’t known the true extent of Harry’s trauma, and didn’t know it would scare him like that. He said that he and the student had a talk and all was forgiven. He asked that everyone respect his decision and let it go. The students did as he asked.

After the ordeal became a headline in The Daily Prophet for a solid week, it was forgotten soon enough.

Harry was quite please by this.

A few months later and it was the sixteenth anniversary of Draco and Harry’s relationship, and their fourteenth wedding anniversary.

Sixteen years of flirting and fucking, but Draco still had a way of using his body and words to turn Harry into a noisy mess in the bedroom. Thankfully, they remembered the silencing charm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who has read, shared, commented, and given kudos!
> 
> I typically write Drarry, Johnlock (Sherlock Holmes and John Watson from BBC’s Sherlock), and I plan on entering Marvel and Good Omens territory. If you’re interested in any of that, subscribe to my account for more.
> 
> Until next time, cheers x


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